Make believe
by Carrot23
Summary: This AU story takes place right before the Nutcracker evening in season 3. Sharon and Andy go into the witness-protection program pretending to be a married couple. Read to find out what happens to their relationship as a result. 100% Shandy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: James Duff owns the characters. I'm just playing in this sandbox until I find another one. Love the toys in this one tho! All mistakes are mine as I have no beta.

Summary: This story takes place some time in mid-season 3. Right before the Nutcracker evening. You know which one. Sharon and Andy need to temporarily go into the witness-protection program and choose to do so together, pretending to be a married couple. 100% Shandy.

Rating: MA, adults only to be on the safe side.

SSSSSSS

Sharon woke with a jolt when the car came to a stop.

"Hmm. Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes, you slept for about 20 minutes. By the looks of it you really seemed to need it though" Andy said gently. "We're here. Home. I guess in a way one could say that." He continued.

"Hmm, yes. Very odd way indeed. Still, I'm glad to be doing this with you Andy, rather than without you." Sharon smiled at Andy, completely unaware of what the effect of that smile was on him.

"Yes, well. Let's get settled in our new home then, shall we Mrs. Johnson?"

Andy said, trying to make light of their situation for the next few weeks, or until they managed to catch the dirtbag who had threatened Sharon's life, and tried to shoot him in broad daylight a few days ago. Sharon merely pursed her lips, and looked out the car window frowning a bit. She seemed tense and upset about their situation again.

Andy felt a twinge of disappointment watching her frown. He did not find the idea of living in the same house with Sharon for the next few weeks repulsive at all, quite to the contrary actually if he was honest with himself. He was actually looking forward to spending time with her every day. Although Andy felt that they had become good friends over the course of the last year, he had been silently hoping that Sharon would one day start seeing him as something else than a good friend.

"Ok, from now on, outside of the house cover names only Drew. Let's go meet the neighbors" Sharon said, completely oblivious to the track that Andy's thoughts had taken and the admiring glances he was giving her. She opened the car door, all the while surveying the neighboring houses and people out and about enjoying the warm fall afternoon.

"Oh hello! You must be the Johnsons!" Sharon saw a beautiful blonde woman waving at them from across the neighboring yard. She smiled in return and started walking towards the approaching woman.

"Yes we are indeed! My name is Shannon and this is my husband Drew" she said, keeping the smile on her face and turning to Andy to introduce him.

"I'm Ann. It's so nice to meet you. We saw the moving truck deliver your things yesterday, so we suspected that you would be arriving either today or tomorrow. Howe very brave of you to give the keys to the company and letting them deliver everything for you before even getting here yourselves. Me, I am not sure I'd ever be brave enough to do that."

"Oh yes, we have full trust in the company, and after all, what are husbands for if not for moving furniture wherever it belongs after it has been delivered – right?" Sharon smirked at Andy, noticing how he was getting a slight blush on his cheeks. She suddenly became aware that their neighbor Ann was exactly Andy's type. Blond, tall but curvy, blue-eyed and all smiles. All of a sudden she felt irritated by Andy's obvious physical reaction. They had just arrived here and he was already checking out the neighbors. She was slightly taken aback by her own emotional reaction to Andy being attracted to this woman, but they were supposed to be pretending to be a married couple and that was getting off to a pretty pathetic start.

"Hello Ann, very nice to meet you" Sharon heard Andy say and watched that brilliant smile of his light up his face. Oh yes, he was definitely attracted to their new neighbor. She had a feeling that Ann was ogling him from head to toe as well as they exchanged pleasantries and as Andy explained to Ann that they had just arrived from California and had therefore had a very long day with the flight and drive from the airport. Sharon couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy when she noticed that Ann's pupils were becoming dilated and she was starting to get a rosy color to her cheeks, same as Andy. She decided that she didn't want to deal with this on their first day here.

"Well Ann, it was lovely to meet you and I hope we can get to know each other better after Drew and I have had some time to settle in and unpack our suitcases. What do you say Drew, should we go inside and see if the furniture is where it should be?" she asked, laying her warm hand on Andy's shirtsleeve and giving him her signature 1000 Mega Watt smile.

"Yes, let's do that" Andy stammered out, and it seemed to Sharon as though he had become very flustered all of a sudden. They said bye to Ann, promising to come over soon for a cup of coffee and to meet her husband Bill.

"Well that was nice wasn't it? Friendly neighbors if nothing else here in Washington" Andy said as he smiled at Sharon's back. He lifted their suitcases out of the trunk of the car as Sharon was digging for the keys to their new home in her purse.

She hummed in response, and seemed to have a tight expression on her face when she was inside and turned around to put the keys on the small table near the door. She was also suddenly avoiding eye contact with Andy. She wanted to make a biting comment about how beautiful their new neighbor was, but decided to hold her tongue. It was none of her business. Yes, they were pretending to be a married couple for the sake of their cover, but Andy was not her husband or boyfriend. They were not a couple. Sharon was not even sure if she was more upset with herself for feeling irritated, or with Andy for being a man and being attracted to a beautiful woman. She decided she needed to put all thoughts of irritation out of her head right now. After all, Andy was free to pursue any women that he wanted, and Ann was married anyway.

"Sharon. Hey, you ok?" Andy asked carefully, wanting to touch her hand but deciding not to because of the tight expression on her face.

"Yeah, fine. Though it's Shannon remember? I think I'm just going to unpack the groceries and then head to bed. I don't feel like eating tonight" she continued, automatically correcting Andy to use her cover name although they were inside.

She didn't want to look at him, not with that blush lingering on his cheeks and thoughts of Ann in his head. Where were these feelings coming from? She did not understand why she felt this irritated all of a sudden.

"Oh, ok. Sure" Andy shrugged his shoulders, thinking that Sharon was probably very tired because of the traveling, and the additional stress of not being allowed to contact any of her three kids was most likely not helping either. Sharon was not the kind of a person to sit around and do nothing about a threat against her, yet that was precisely what she would have to do until the dirtbag was caught.

"Here, let me help you with the groceries" Andy was glad that they had thought to stop on their way to their temporary home and do a little bit of grocery shopping. They had been assured that their accommodation would have a fully functional kitchen, but they had been quite sure that that did not mean that it would come with groceries. They unpacked the grocery bags in silence and after that Sharon made her way up to the second floor of the house to choose a bedroom.

Without asking, Sharon let Andy have the bigger one with the double bed, and chose the smaller room down the hall for herself. After unpacking her suitcases, she realized that although there were two bedrooms, they shared a bathroom with Andy. Oh god, she thought. This was something she had not expected to have to do. This would make living with him a lot more intimate than she had planned.

"Andy?"

"Yeah?" she heard Andy call from downstairs.

"Uhhh, there's two bedrooms up here. I let you have the bigger bedroom since I don't really have a lot of things with me. But uhhh.. "

"Oh you can have the bigger bedroom if you want" Andy called out, coming up the stars to see the second floor for himself.

"No it's fine. You can have the bigger room, but I've just realized that there's only one bathroom." Sharon let her voice trail off. She was already feeling sorry for bringing it up like this. What was she thinking? Why was she making such a big deal out of sharing a bathroom?

"Oh, well. Uhhh. I guess we'll just have to make do with this then" Andy said in a quiet voice peeking into the bathroom in front of which Sharon was standing. He shrugged his shoulders for the second time since entering the house and had a sheepish expression on his face. All of a sudden Sharon felt flustered and stupid for bringing it up. What did she expect Andy to do? This is what they had and this is what they would have to live with for the next few weeks. Hopefully it would only be for a few weeks. Who knew, they might even catch the dirtbag tomorrow and that would mean that Sharon and Andy would be able to go back to their real lives in LA.

"There is another bathroom downstairs, isn't there?" Sharon asked, realizing how desperate she was sounding even to her own ears.

"Yeah but it's not a full bathroom, just a toilet with a sink in it. So this is the only bathtub in the house right here."

"Ok, well, we'll just make the best of it then" Sharon quickly added, not wanting to discuss this any more and regretting that she had mentioned it in the first place. Again, she didn't want to meet Andy's eyes for fear of thinking that he would think that she was being fussy. "I'm just going to unpack and head to bed then" she continued and slipped into what was now her room at the end of the hall. Andy followed her, sensing her unease and wanting to make her feel better somehow. He leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey, it's hopefully only for a couple of weeks and then we'll be back in LA, back to our regular old boring lives" he gave Sharon a lopsided grin, thinking that their regular lives were anything but boring.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just upset about this whole situation" Sharon was thinking out aloud. "It's frustrating to have to run and hide like this, instead of trying to catch this criminal who is after me. And now he's after you too because of me" she added sadly.

It was one thing for her to get threatened and followed, but to have Andy's life put in jeopardy because of something that she had seen was just unfair. Andy had had nothing to do with this mess. The guy had just seen Andy giving Sharon a ride home, and apparently decided to try to kill him, but then he had failed and now Andy had seen his face as well, putting Andy in danger. But here they were. Playing house and hoping that the FBI would catch the thug so that they could go back to LA. In the meanwhile, there was nothing to do but try to make the best out of it.

"It's going to be alright Sharon. We will manage this together."

Sharon just hummed, not giving him a real answer. She attempted to smile, but the smile did not quite reach her eyes, so she avoided looking at Andy again, so she did not see the hurt expression in Andy's eyes. He was starting to get the feeling that she would rather be anywhere else than in this house with him, and that saddened him. Wishing her a good night he silently made his way downstairs to fix himself a sandwich and to watch a bit of TV before turning in for the night.

SSSSSSSSSSS

On Monday morning, it was time for both Sharon and Andy to get ready for work. According to their cover story, they had moved to Tacoma because Drew had received a good job offer from a local upcoming security firm. Sharon had grumbled about it for a while and then accepted that it was the way of the world that wives and families would go where the husband's job led them. She had been fiercely independent for such a long time that it was hard to imagine her ever wanting to follow a man to another state, but a cover story was a cover story. She supposed that one story was as good as the other, as long as it kept them safe. It had been much harder for the bureau to find a job for Sharon since she had always been a cop, and they had not wanted to place both Andy and Sharon in the security business. So they found her a job at small law firm. Given that they would most likely not be in their respective jobs for long, Sharon didn't really mind the idea of seeing the inner workings of a law firm after so many years in law enforcement.

"So, you ready to make your entry into the world of lawyers today?" Andy asked as they were having breakfast. He had come down from his room to find that Sharon had prepared a bowl of fresh fruit, yoghurt and granola for him.

Taking a shower had been torture for Andy because Sharon had been in there a few minutes earlier and he could still smell her peach shower gel in the air. He had had a very hard time focusing on taking a shower and not daydreaming about Sharon's naked body under the shower, lathering peach smelling soap on her… _Oh god. Stop Andy_. He had to stop thinking about her like this. This would land him in trouble with Sharon if she had any idea what was going through his head.

"Yes, it will be interesting to see how they put together their cases and prepare for court." She smiled at Andy. She had for the most part gotten over the fact that he had been so obviously attracted to their neighbor Ann. They had spent a quiet weekend at home, both lost in their thoughts. They had ventured out to the local mall once to get a few necessities for the house. Although furniture was provided, there had been a few things Sharon had wanted to get that she'd be able to take with her to LA when this was all over. Andy had found an AA group that was a short drive from their house, so he had gone to a meeting on Sunday night.

"How about you? Ready to tackle the interesting world of private security?"

"I think it might turn out to be a bit boring, but at least the past decades in the force have taught me how criminals think, so it shouldn't be too demanding on an intellectual level" Andy could not help but linger on Sharon's eyes. The brilliant green of her irises went so well together with the green and black blouse she was wearing under her jacket. It was one of his favorites and he was always delighted when he saw her wearing it in the office.

"What?" Sharon had a puzzled expression on her face.

"No nothing. Just thinking that you look nice this morning" Andy added as an afterthought. Was this going too far? Friends were allowed to complement each other like this, right. He felt himself blushing. He shouldn't say things like this to his friend and boss. They might be in unusual circumstances right now, but eventually they'd be going back to LA and he didn't want to risk their friendship. All of a sudden he could not meet Sharon's gaze and found the granola fascinating.

"Why thank you Mr. Johnson" Sharon smiled and said in a sultry voice. "You don't look too bad yourself Drew" she added, and on an impulse touched his hand lightly. What was she doing? Was she flirting with Andy? Oh gosh it was easy to hide behind these fake identities. She'd have to be very careful not to cross any lines here. They were pretending to be husband and wife, the keyword here being _pretending_. Andy didn't see her in that light at all. She was not his type. Sure they were friends, but at the end of the day he liked busty blondes at least 20 years younger than Sharon.

He suddenly noticed the old wedding ring that she was wearing. The ring that Jack had given her two decades before. He frowned. He did not like Sharon wearing a ring on her hand that had been given to her by that jackass, not when the divorce was final and that part of her life was over.

"Sharon…"

"Yes?"

"You're wearing your old wedding ring…" Andy trailed off. Of course she would wear it as a part of their cover story. She was after all, a married woman for all intents and purposes. He wanted to kick himself for bringing it up.

"Yeah I... Ah, it's just that when I was married I did wear it, so I thought… since we are supposed to pretend to be… ah" she didn't really know what she was saying. She pulled her hand away, and Andy missed the warmth instantly. She had already worn it when they had left LA on Friday morning, but apparently Andy hadn't noticed it until now. "You didn't notice it on Friday?" she finally managed to blurt out.

"No I… I didn't notice but if you want to wear it. I mean, it's like you said, we are supposed to be husband and uh, wife. Right?" All of a sudden Andy had no idea what he was saying and why he had brought the entire topic up. Of course she would wear the ring, because she was supposed to be his wife. _Stop now Andy. Nothing good is going to come out of this_ , he thought.

But once again his mouth was faster than his brain. "I just, I guess I don't want you to be thinking of Jack when-" oh god he thought. _This is even worse. Stop right now._ He stood up abruptly and rinsed his now empty bowl in the sink.

"Never mind" he mumbled to himself.

Sharon stared at his back in silence. After two somewhat tense days at home, this morning had started so pleasantly with breakfast. Why had it turned so awkward when he had brought up the ring? She got up as well and put her cup down on the counter.

"Right. Well-" she said, clearing her throat and pursing her lips a bit. "We should probably get going. And uh, we can talk about this more in the evening." She wanted to pat him on the back, squeeze his shoulder or something, but she just clenched her hands into fists and walked towards the door, expecting him to follow since he was giving her a ride to work.

"Yeah ok, Sharon, I mean Shannon. We will talk in the evening then" Andy managed to get out, thinking that at least sounded somewhat civilized and not as Neanderthal like as the last few sentences that had come out of his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

Arriving at Sharon's, or Shannon's he mentally corrected himself, workplace a few minutes early, Andy let his head drop against the headrest.

 _He was knocking on Sharon's condo door. His emotional state could be described as happy, excited and a bit nervous. In fact, he was feeling positively giddy. He was taking her out to a baseball game today. He'd been looking forward to this for a week now, and for once everything had gone according to plan, since they had not caught a case this weekend, and the weather was absolutely fantastic. The seats had been a surprise to him from his sponsor who could not go to the game himself. On a whim, he had texted Sharon in the parking lot right after his AA meeting. She had replied almost immediately that she'd be glad to go._

 _The thought of her sitting by his side for several hours was giving him a fuzzy warm feeling, and Andy was still in his thoughts when Sharon opened the door. She was dressed in white shorts that showed off her toned legs, and a dark purple top that showed a bit more cleavage than usual. He tried not to stare, making sure that he kept looking at her face instead of her cleavage or legs. It wasn't often that he saw her in such a casual outfit._

 _The stadium was pretty crowded when they got there about 10 minutes before the start of the game. People were rushing in every direction to get their hotdogs and sodas or trying to find their seats. Pushing through the crowd, Andy reached out his hand for Sharon's without giving it a second thought. Her small hand fit nicely in his, and he could be sure that he would not lose her in the midst of all the people. He pulled her closer when they neared the seats, and got a whiff of her perfume in the process. God she smelled heavenly._

 _Once seated, he reluctantly let go of her hand and missed the physical contact immediately. He resisted the temptation to drape his arm around her waist to pull her close. Her perfume had never been as intoxicating as today. She's a friend, nothing more. Just keep that in mind old boy, he tried to remind himself._

 _"I like the perfume. Is it new?" He spoke near her ear in order to be heard over the noise of the crowd. He could see Sharon's ears turning pink even in the bright daylight._

 _"No, Andy... it's just that I haven't used it at work very often. Glad you like it though." She sounded a bit breathless after the last sentence. She was looking at him with surprise and shyness. And that had been the very moment that Andy Flynn had known that he did not see her as just a friend any more. She was so attractive, yet she had no idea of the effect that she had on him. He was relieved when the national anthem started and gave them a reason to focus on the game instead of the conversation._

 _A few times during the game their arms touched, and every time Andy felt a tingling on his skin where it came in touch with Sharon. A few times Sharon got so excited that he grabbed Andy's arm out of reflex and held onto him for a second or two. It was nice to see her so focused on something else than work and just enjoying herself. It was wonderful to just spend time with her and feel her enthusiasm._

Andy opened his eyes abruptly as he heard a familiar click clack of heels from outside of the car.

"Hey."

"Hi Drew. I'm sorry I'm running a few minutes late" Sharon said, opening the door. "I couldn't find my umbrella anywhere although I'm sure I had one with me in the morning when I left. Bye Linda! See you tomorrow!" She called out to someone out of Andy's field of vision.

"Don't worry. You're not late. Actually I'm a bit early. Didn't want to be late on the first day." He smiled at Sharon.

"I'm going to walk home on nice days so that you don't need to come and pick me up."

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm happy to pick you up and take you home any day Sharon."

Only after he had said it aloud did he realize that his comment could sound a bit suggestive if taken out of context. Sharon gave him one of her glares over the rim of her glasses. There was a smile in her eyes, which Andy did not see because he was too busy trying to get the damn wipers to work. Suddenly he felt like he had never operated a car before.

"I have no doubt of that, Drew" she deadpanned.

"Uh, I mean..."

"Don't worry about it Andy. I know what you mean" Sharon said, hoping that Andy would hear the humor in her voice. He did.

"Are you laughing at your poor husband's expense Sharon?" Andy smirked at her. It was such a relief to share a moment of humor with her after the serious and quiet weekend that they had had.

"Oh no, no, no, I'd never do that now would I? What kind of a woman do you take me to be?" Sharon was almost laughing out loud now.

Andy wanted to ask about her day. He wanted to tell her about his day as well, but for the moment he wanted the light atmosphere of the car more. They exchanged smiles and Andy drove them home in silence.

Once they got home, Sharon immediately kicked off her black heels. "Oh god" she mumbled under her breath. Heels looked great, but they were painful to wear for so many hours.

"I'll just change and get dinner started. I don't know about you but I'm starved" Andy said as he started climbing the stairs towards his bedroom.

He completely missed the surprised expression on Sharon's face. She had no idea that Andy, her hothead lieutenant, cooked. She sunk down on the couch in the living room and put her feet up on the armrest. It felt heavenly to be able to get off of her feet after the long day and she was not going to protest if Andy wanted to make dinner for them. She closed her eyes and let a memory take her away from reality for a moment.

 _It had been a great movie, but neither one of them was ready for the evening to end yet. As they got up from their seats, Andy grabbed hold of Sharon's hand. He probably didn't want to lose her in the crowd of exiting people, or at least that was what Sharon convinced herself to believe._

 _She could feel his pulse against the palm of her hand and suggested casually that they get some dessert before ending the evening. Rusty was not home tonight and she wasn't looking forward to spending the evening in an empty apartment._

 _Lately she had been feeling that no matter how much time they spent together with Andy, she never got tired of his company. He made her laugh. He took her mind off work and she felt that she could be herself around him. There had been moments that she had wondered if Andy felt the same way._

 _They usually went out approximately once a week. They went to the movies, they had dinner together and they had gone to the beach a few times. They had also been to a charity event together. Andy had even mentioned a bed and breakfast somewhere along the coast that he hoped Sharon would have a chance to visit one day._

 _"Dessert?" Andy was surprised because normally Sharon would want to get home at this hour to make sure that Rusty was ok. "Yes, why not? There's a Magnolia Bakery that we could walk to nearby if you are feeling like cheesecake?"_

 _"I'm not going to say no to cheesecake Andy. You know that. Lead the way." She gave him a bright smile that made him smile as well._

 _Once they were clear of the exiting crowd, he let go of her hand and they made their way through the mall. Andy's hand landed on the small of her back to guide her through the mall exit, and Sharon felt like his hand was burning a hole through her clothes. She was glad that it was a bit cooler outside because she was afraid that she might spontaneously combust if not for the cooling effect of the outside air. She was sure her cheeks were red, and she suddenly had a vision of herself catching fire like a human candle. The thought made her giggle a bit._

 _"What's so funny that it has you giggling out aloud?"_

 _"Nothing, just thinking of the movie" Sharon tried an evasive answer hoping he'd let it drop._

 _He did, and they walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence._

 _"I can't decide Andy. I am torn between the regular cheesecake and the Red Velvet. I've never tried their Red Velvet, but I think I don't want to risk it." Sharon was biting her lip while looking the menu over._

 _"The Red Velvet is very good. In fact, everything here is very good. Why don't I have the Red Velvet, and you have the regular, and you can steal a spoonful from me so that you can taste it?"_

 _The thought of them sharing a piece made her smile. She nodded and smiled at him, and watched him place their order. It was too late to drink coffee, so he ordered some chamomile tea instead. He knew Sharon liked to drink it late at night when she was in the mood for something warm. It wasn't a cold night, but it wasn't particularly warm either, and she hadn't brought a coat, just a light cardigan._

 _Sharon caught herself thinking that she would really enjoy scooting closer to Andy to share his body heat. He had brought his leather jacket, but he wasn't wearing it because guys never seemed to feel the cold the same way women did._

 _Their cakes and tea arrived, and Sharon closed her eyes as she tasted the first spoonful of her piece. She let out a satisfied little moan that had Andy melting from the inside. Then she was licking her lips and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to press his lips on hers and run his hands through her hair. Sharon chose that exact moment to look at him. She saw something in his brown eyes because she blushed a bit, and looked down at his Red Velvet._

 _"Aren't you going to try it?"_

 _"Yeah, I will. I just, enjoy watching you enjoy your piece" he said quietly. That was not what he had thought at all, but it let them both ignore the emotions that she may have seen in his eyes. She didn't want to acknowledge them. She kept clinging to that word: friends. They were friends and that was all, and it felt safe. He didn't see her as a woman. She was his boss and friend and that was that._

 _"Here," he took a spoonful of his cake and lifted it up for Sharon to taste._

 _"Oh, I uh-" and she had no way to avoid it so she took it in her mouth and let out another satisfied moan. She was embarrassed, but at the same time excited by the intimacy of Andy feeding her with his own spoon, but the cake did taste heavenly._

 _Sensing that it was getting a bit too intimate for the both of them, Sharon started talking about the movie that they had just seen to lighten the mood. That got them laughing and Sharon was able to put behind the unsettling feeling that there was something happening here between them that she couldn't name._

 _After they finished their cakes, Andy once again insisted on paying, and Sharon gave up without too much of a fight. Despite the warm tea, she was shivering a bit when they got up and Andy offered to walk her back to the mall and to her car._

 _"Here, you're cold." Andy said, offering his coat to her._

 _"Thank you." Sharon gave him another smile. She had not planned to be out this late tonight, so she had not thought it necessary to bring a coat. She let Andy do almost all the talking on their way back to her car. She was too enveloped in the smell of his leather jacket to be able to really put together any coherent sentences._

Sharon heard Andy come into the kitchen and decided it was time for her as well to go and change into something a bit more comfortable. She got up, letting a small groan out as her sore feet touched the floor once again. She was tempted to ask Andy what he was going to make, but in all honesty if it was edible she didn't care what she put in her mouth tonight.

She came back down in yoga pants and a white t-shirt, feeling a lot more comfortable. It was strange to have him in her kitchen, or their kitchen, she mentally corrected herself. Sure, they had gone out quite frequently in LA, but it was always out to restaurants and malls etc. She had never been to his house, and he had only been to her condo door. They had never shared this domesticity before, and Sharon found it a bit unsettling for some reason.

"So what are we having tonight?"

"I'm going to throw together a vegetarian lasagna if that's ok with you?"

"Sounds delicious Andy."

"Great. So tell me, how was your day?"

"It was surprisingly ok. My boss is a real gentleman called Peter. He has been practicing law for almost 40 years, and recently lost his wife to cancer and he likes to run marathons in his spare time. He seems ok to work with. I was trying to stick to the truth as much as possible, but he was asking a lot of questions about my background once he realized that I have an understanding of the law. The ladies at the office seem great. Linda showed me around today and helped me get started. She is about the same age as me and she has a great sense of humor. She is recently divorced so, uh, yeah I think if this were my real life it would be easy for us to become friends"

"Well, you are recently divorced, and even more recently newly married" Andy attempted to lighten the mood again. He smiled at Sharon as she started setting the table. She didn't respond to his banter.

"Yeah, but I hear you when it comes to the lying. I had the same problem as well. I had to tone it down a bit when we were at a house today and making a plan on how to install a security system. I mean, their plan was pretty good, but there were a couple of things they hadn't considered that I had to point out to them that a burglar would think of immediately."

"Yeah I'm sure it's as weird for you to be on the preventative side of things as it is for me to be in that office trying to think of ways that the lawyers could defend their clients."

Sharon set the table as they talked and then switched on the TV in the living room. Once Andy finished getting the lasagna ready he popped it in the oven and joined her on the couch to watch the news.

"I miss Rusty already." Sharon said and smiled at him.

"Yeah I know what you mean. It's strange being here and not in LA, without the usual stress of our jobs. This job of mine is going to be a walk in the park, but I still wish we could be back home."

"Yeah, I wish I could just call my kids to make sure they are ok" Sharon leaned her head against the headrest and looked at the ceiling.

"Hey" Andy reached for her shoulder and gave it small squeeze. "They are fine. Rusty is with Provenza and you know that old bear will do anything he needs to protect that boy, and he was in no danger in the first place anyway, because he is not the witness this time. It's you and me they are after since we are the eye-witnesses."

"I know. But still. I just wish I could be there. You know how I don't like to be kept in the dark, and- I just wish I could be the one leading the investigation and manhunt."

Sharon laid her hand on Andy's that was still on her shoulder.

"As much as I miss all of them and as much as I hate not being in control, I am still glad to be out here with my friend Andy." She stroked his hand slowly, having no idea how that one word, _friend_ , had Andy flinching inwardly. On the other hand, if that was all that they'd ever be able to be, then he'd gladly take it if the only other option was losing Sharon completely.

TBC (Chapter 3 is already written, just need to edit.)


	3. Chapter 3

For the following few weeks, Sharon walked home from the office. It was a 30 minute walk, but in the fresh fall air, she really enjoyed going home on foot through the parks and neighborhoods. Every morning she brought a comfortable pair of shoes with her to the office, and changed into them as soon as she was ready to start her walk home. In LA she never walked anywhere, so it was a nice change, and since the weather was good she figured she might as well take advantage of her time here.

They developed a comfortable rhythm of Andy dropping her off in the morning and Sharon walking home in the evening when she was done at the office. She was getting along well with Pete, and was quickly becoming his most trusted aide in the office. She was slowly becoming friends with Linda as well. They were almost exactly the same age and found that they had so much in common that it was hard not to start spending some time together during lunch breaks. They would often go to a nearby café and enjoy their salads talking about nothing and everything from men to the ballet. Sharon felt bad for lying to Linda about a few things, but tried to tell her as much as she could about her real life without jeopardizing her cover identity.

The place where Linda and Sharon often had lunch was popular among the companies that had offices nearby, and one day as they were having lunch again and giggling on about something related to men they noticed a very beautiful woman in her mid-thirties walk in. It was impossible not to notice how almost all the men in the café noticed her as well.

"Oh gosh, if I were still young and beautiful like that…" Linda commented in a quiet voice, looking at the woman. "Did you see the way almost all the men just had to stop eating just to admire her?"

"Yes, I wish my husband looked me like that every once in a while" Sharon said. Only realizing what she had said once it was already out. She turned red and looked at Linda's surprised expression. What was she doing? She didn't really want Andy to look at her that way, did she? They were friends. Right now they were living under the same roof, but they were not husband and wife.

"Oh, Shannon honey…"

"Never mind Linda, just forget I said anything. It's fine really. We are-" What could she say? What exactly were they to each other with Andy? Linda looked at her sadly. "Friends" Sharon finally managed to get out. "Yes, we are friends and it's fine really."

"Oh no, no, no. It's not fine. You have a man in your life, a husband, and he should make you feel something other than fine Shannon. If he is taking you for granted then you should definitely try to shake things up a bit"

"No it's fine really" Sharon was so embarrassed now for having let something so personal slip. And she was confused as well. In all honesty, she had felt closer to Andy when they had been back in LA and going out together as friends. It was almost like this forced intimacy with each other had distanced them from each other on an emotional level. At least in LA she had caught Andy looking at her with a soft expression once every blue moon, but now they were 100% in friend territory again.

"Shannon, we're friends right? Let's do a girls' night out on Friday just for fun, and see where it leaves you. We'll meet at my place, have some wine and go to a nice place I know where the younger crowd doesn't like to hang out. We'll just dance, have a few drinks and let loose a bit. Whaddaya say girl?"

Sharon wanted to say no. She wasn't sure how this would end. And what would Andy think? "I'm not sure Linda…" she didn't want to let her friend down and say no. She had not been out in ages. Sure, she was divorced, but the bar scene had never really been her thing and ever since her divorce, and even before it, there had been all those outings with Andy. She hadn't even thought about going out to a bar since the divorce. But on the other hand it sounded fun.

"Come on Shannon. When was the last time you went out just for fun with no care in the world?"

Sharon could not remember so she gave no answer. "See. That is saying a lot right there that you can't even remember when you last let loose Shannon" Linda smiled, because she knew Sharon had already agreed even if she didn't know it herself.

"Ok Linda. Let's do it. Let's wear something nice and sexy and have a few glasses of wine and dance." It actually sounded like a great idea to Sharon and all of a sudden she couldn't wait. She even had just the shoes in mind for the night.

That whole week Sharon had been waiting for their girls' night out. Initially on Monday she had regretted saying yes to Linda and wanted to call her right away and cancel. Then on Tuesday she had taken the car and driven to a mall in the evening and bought a new dress. She had given the lingerie shop longing glances as well, wanting to get something nice and new to wear under the new dress. _Why the hell not_ she thought, and went inside. An hour later she came out with three new sets of lingerie and a nightie. She had spent a lot longer in the store than she had planned to, and spent a lot more money too.

But looking at herself in the fitting room mirror with a beautiful lace bra on, she had suddenly felt desirable again. She had felt something that she had not felt for a very long time. She actually _wanted_ a man to look at her and want her. She had briefly wondered if Andy would like what she was wearing. Then she blushed so hard all over that she was sure the shop assistants could see her radiating heat through the fitting room door. _He is your friend and you have no business thinking of him in that way_ , she told herself. Still, she had had to give herself a few minutes to calm down before she could actually pay for her purchases.

That night when she got home she told Andy that she'd be going out with Linda on Friday. He was surprised to say the very least, but offered to come and pick her up from work so that she'd have enough time to get ready, and drop her off and pick her up after their night if she needed it. She graciously accepted, thinking that she'd have to ask Andy to pick her up more often from now on since the weather was getting colder and although it was still dry, it would probably start raining more in the coming weeks.

On Friday, Andy was a few minutes early again to pick her up. He liked taking Sharon to work in the mornings. It was nice to spend those 10 minutes in the car every day just talking about what they'd have for dinner or what they'd watch in the evening when they got home.

"Hey" Sharon greeted him when she got in.

"Well hey you" Andy smiled at her.

"How was your day?" She smiled at him brightly.

"It was fine. Went to do an initial assessment on a couple of new houses that are thinking of getting alarm systems and met with a few prospective new clients. What about you?"

"Well, Pete and I were pretty busy today trying to pull all the files that pertain to the big case he is working on right now. I actually should have stayed a bit longer but Linda made sure that Pete knew we were going out tonight so he let me leave on time."

"Oh yes, your big night out tonight. You guys going any place special?"

"Oh just a place where we can get a few drinks and where there is a nice dance floor, according to Linda at least"

"Dancing? I didn't know you like dancing." Andy perked up a bit. He felt uncomfortable with the idea of some random guys putting their hands on Sharon.

"Oh yeah. It's been a while. Well no actually, it's been forever, but I do like to twirl around a bit every now and then."

"Right, well, we'll have to do it together then sometime" Andy was trying to shake off this unpleasant feeling of Sharon slipping away from him bit by bit. She looked gorgeous most mornings when he dropped her off at work, and his palms were itching to give her a hug or an innocent kiss on the cheek in the car, so that his coworkers who might be passing by would see that she was taken. He thought it was pretty ridiculous that he felt uncomfortable about her working in an office with so many men, when she had been surrounded almost entirely by men all through her years in the force.

"Well if you dance, then sure thing Drew" Sharon said flippantly, and changed the topic for the rest of the ride.

When they got home she rushed into the shower and took extra care doing her hair and makeup for the evening. She purposefully went for a sexy look that went nicely with the dark red dress that she had bought earlier on in the week. She sprayed on some perfume and adjusted the new bra that she was wearing under the dress. _There_ , she thought. _Not half bad, Raydor_. _You still have some hope that a man might look at you twice._

She made her way downstairs and saw Andy fixing himself a sandwich. She would need to grab a quick bite of something herself before Linda got here. It would not be a good idea to drink wine on an empty stomach tonight.

"Would you mind making me one, too?" She asked.

"Sure. No mustard as usual?" Andy asked without looking at her.

"Please" Sharon said, feeling a bit disappointed that he wasn't even interested enough to have a look at her. He sipped a bit of water and then proceeded to cut the lettuce for Sharon. Sharon moved closer to him, wanting to get a reaction of some sort out of him. _Please Andy, at least pretend to be a tiny bit interested_ , she thought. He looked up, and at the same time his jaw seemed to drop.

"Sharon" Andy felt like his throat had gone completely dry. He could not help but look her over from head to toe. She was wearing a very dark red dress that was a lot tighter than the dresses she normally wore to work. There was way more cleavage showing than normally, and the legs seemed to go on forever, and the dress was hardly covering her backside "You look… wow. I don't know. I mean, you look very nice tonight" he managed in a strangled voice. Suddenly he realized that he didn't actually want her to go out in that dress. She looked so hot. There would be dozens of men trying to get her attention tonight at the bar that they were going to and suddenly the thought of Sharon there without him made him feel things that he should not feel.

He noticed that she was still wearing her wedding ring. At least that would work as a bit of a buffer wherever they were going, although she might take it off. The thought of her taking the wedding ring off in the bar made his stomach clench painfully.

"So, uh, where exactly are you and Linda going tonight?"

"I'm not entirely sure what the place is called, but it's supposed to be an Irish bar of some sort."

"Oh ok, and they have dancing there?"

"Yes, there is supposed to be a live band starting at 10, so there will be some dancing."

"Right, ok." Andy wanted to ask her not to go. He wanted to go with her and Linda. Anything to get Sharon from being alone in a room full of drunken men listening to live music and watching her dance on the dance floor. He did not want his wife to dance with anyone tonight. _Get a grip Andy, she is not your wife and she has every right to dance with as many men as she wants to,_ he thought.

They finished their sandwiches on the kitchen counter. Andy was wracking his brain trying to come up with something to talk about. Some way to tell Sharon that she looked beautiful, and that he wanted her to look at him and see more than a friend. These past weeks had been hard on him. He had gone to more meetings than he ever did in LA because of her. It wasn't anything that Sharon was doing or saying, just that he needed to clear his head when he was spending so much time with her and having all these feelings starting to bottle up. It did not help that she was supposed to be his wife to the outside world.

Next Friday, they'd been invited to Ann and Bill's house for coffee, and Andy was already nervous about how that would go. She'd be right there in front of him, but as unattainable as ever while everyone else around them thought that they were husband and wife.

Sharon's phone started ringing. It was Linda, letting her know that she was outside waiting for her in the car.

"Ok well, have a nice evening with Linda." Andy tried to be polite, but did not want to look at Sharon as he walked her to the door. He did not want to think of all those men who would be ogling her body tonight and trying to get her attention and maybe even number.

"Yeah, and don't wait up. I really don't mind taking a cab once I'm ready to come home."

"No way Sharon, I am coming to get you when you are ready. I want to, ok? So just give me a call about 20 min before you are ready to leave and I'll be there."

"Ok" she laid a gentle hand on his chest, facing him in the narrow hall of their house, and gazing him with those beautiful green eyes. He helped her into her coat, and felt a sudden urge to wrap his arms around her waist from behind. He wanted to whisper into her ear that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

She opened the door and waved at Linda waiting in the car. "So, have a good evening and I'll see you in a few hours" Sharon said as she gave Andy that brilliant smile again.

 _You can't let her go like this._ Acting on instinct, Andy grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a sudden hug right there in the open doorway. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the smell of her perfume and shampoo. It was intoxicating. His hands were on her waist and he could feel the heat of her body.

"Sharon-" he whispered into her ear "keep the wedding ring on". And with that he let her go and watched the surprised expression on her face. She seemed to need a moment to collect herself before she waved him bye and walked to Linda's waiting car.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

It was a fun night out for sure. Sharon didn't remember when she had last enjoyed herself this freely. They had gone to Linda's place, drank some wine and giggled about girly stuff on the couch. Sharon wasn't one to normally giggle, but Andy's parting comment had her feeling happy and carefree.

After downing a bottle of wine at Linda's they caught a cab downtown and went to the Irish place that Linda had talked about. It was a Friday night, so it was pretty crowded as they got there just before the band started to play. Sharon found the wine they ordered to be excellent and the music surprisingly ok too. Sharon was sure to hold her wine glass with her left hand so that her old wedding ring was clearly visible at all times. There were some men who offered to buy her a drink, but she politely declined, as she didn't want to encourage them.

Linda on the other hand, let a guy buy her a glass of wine, and seemed to be getting pretty comfortable with him the closer midnight was getting. They had been on the dance floor several times and Linda's hands had seemed to get braver every time.

Although Sharon didn't want to drink at anyone else's expense, she did not turn down any invitations to dance, so she danced with six different men during the evening. She didn't want to encourage them either though, so she left it at one or maximum two dances with each guy. Despite enjoying herself immensely, she started getting a bit tired when the clock was nearing one.

She told Linda that she was going home and texted Andy to see if he'd still be up. She actually texted to tell him that she'd be getting a cab home soon, but Andy replied immediately and told her to wait for him to come and pick her up. Sharon smiled to herself. It was sweet that he was willing to come and get her in the middle of the night. She knew that Andy knew that she would have no problem taking a cab by herself, but it was the gentlemanly thing to do to come and pick her up.

About 10 minutes before Andy was due to arrive she made her way outside and waited near the road, knowing that it would be nearly impossible for Andy to find a parking spot with all the people being dropped off and picked up by different people. She was quite tired, but happy. It had been a really nice night with Linda. Her feet were sore from all the dancing she had done, and her ears were ringing a bit because of the loud music, but she could not remember the last time she had let go like that and enjoyed herself so much.

"Hey you beautiful" someone commented from behind her.

"Oh hello" Sharon said without smiling at the tall man who had approached her. It was one of the guys she had danced with. She was fairly sure he had introduced himself as Lee.

"Waiting for a ride home?"

"Yes, my husband should be here any minute" Sharon replied, using the word husband on purpose.

"Ah yes, the husband who let this beautiful a woman come out by herself tonight. He should be put behind bars for that" Lee continued. "Did you enjoy your night?"

"Yes, I did" Sharon said, not really wanting to continue this conversation, but not seeing the harm in it either. Lee was just being friendly as he waited for his own ride and they had shared a few dances so she had no reason to be rude to him. He wasn't aggressive or anything and seemed to just want to have a chat with her.

"Oh, my husband is here" Sharon said somewhat relieved that she had the perfect out from this. Andy stopped the car where she was standing so that she could get in, and Lee was polite and opened the door for her.

"Have yourself a good night Shannon, it was a pleasure meeting you" he said in parting and closed the door once Sharon was inside.

Andy was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were completely white. He didn't know what to say to Sharon. He had no right to her, yet here he was, burning up with jealousy. At least the ring was still on Sharon's finger, although that did not mean that she hadn't taken it off some time during the night.

"Who was that?" Andy wanted to bite his tongue off for sounding like he was interrogating the worst criminal that had ever passed through their interview room.

"Oh I think his name was Lee or something. We danced" Sharon answered, seemingly oblivious to his tone.

"I see." _Did he touch you,_ was all that Andy was thinking. There was an awkward silence while Andy tried to get a grip on himself and his feelings to continue. "Did you have fun?" It was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but Andy forced himself to soften his tone. In his mind's eye he could see that Lee guy standing over Sharon, asking her to dance and escorting her to the dance floor with his hand on her back… He wanted to get out of the car and beat the crap out of him.

"Mmmhhhhhh" Sharon hummed in response, leaning her head against the headrest and looking at him. She was feeling quite relaxed, although she could hardly even be described tipsy at this point anymore. It had been a few hours since she'd last drank any wine. She had made sure that she would not be coming home under the influence with a recovering alcoholic in the house. She had felt that it would not be fair on Andy if she did.

Andy didn't want to know the rest, so he didn't ask. The jealousy that bubbled up when he thought of Sharon in the arms of Lee was something that he did not want to feel. He had gone to a meeting that night right after Sharon had left, and actually sat through three of them, just listening to others talk. He had started talking to some of the familiar faces a bit more frequently after meetings when he lingered for a minute or two. It was good to have support since he couldn't contact his sponsor while in the witness protection program.

Sharon looked at him, but was completely oblivious to the fact that Andy was very tense since she was feeling so relaxed herself. She wanted to say something to break the silence, but words eluded her. She wanted to bring up his parting comment, but didn't know how and she wanted to be sober for that conversation anyway, so it was not a good time. She closed her eyes and let her mind linger on the events of the evening.

Andy drove them home in silence.

SSSSSSSSSS

It had been a long and tense few days since Sharon's night out with Linda. Andy and Sharon had still not discussed Andy's parting comment at all, since neither one of them really knew how to bring it up in a natural way. Sharon found herself feeling shy and even nervous around Andy. And Andy was feeling a bit embarrassed by his actions and words. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate for Sharon to know that he did not like the idea of other men flirting with her. After all, Sharon had made it clear on more than one occasion that they were only friends. While he was now able to admit to himself that he felt more than friendship for Sharon, he wasn't sure if Sharon was ready to hear it.

Linda on the other hand, kept telling Sharon that night and later at work on Monday and Tuesday that she was positively glowing. Sharon had a silly smile on her face quite often and found herself reliving the intense feelings that she had felt the moment Andy had asked her not to take the fake ring off. Even Peter had noticed that she had been a bit distracted at work that week, although he had not known the reason for it.

When Andy had come to pick her up in town after their night out, Sharon had recognized the fact that she had had a few glasses of wine, so she had been extra careful not to say or do anything out of the ordinary. She did not want Andy to think that she was behaving differently towards him because she was a bit tipsy. When she closed her eyes in the car though, she could still feel Andy's hands on her waist under her coat, and his warm breath on the skin of her neck, asking her to keep the ring on.

Then there had also been Sunday night when she had been making a sample batch of cupcakes that she was planning on making again on Friday to take to Ann and Bill' house for their coffee evening.

 _"Hey, how was the meeting?" Sharon asked without looking up from the cupcake dough she was making when she heard Andy come home._

 _"You know how those things are. It was ok."_

 _Sharon just hummed in response. She knew that the meetings could get pretty intense sometimes. Andy didn't usually discuss them with her, which was ok. If he wanted to keep that part of his life private it was fine with her._

 _"What are you making?"_

 _"We are going over to Ann and Bill's for coffee on Friday, remember? I wanted to just make cupcakes to see how they turn out in this oven of ours "_

 _"Oh yeah. We did agree to go over on Friday, I'd completely forgotten."_

 _"Hey could you do me a favor and taste this?"_

 _Sharon held a spoon up with a bit of dough on it, aiming at Andy's mouth._

 _"Sure" Andy said, as he let Sharon feed the dough to him on the spoon._

 _"Oh that's really good Sharon" Andy said closing his eyes and enjoying the sweet taste._

 _Satisfied with the result, Sharon turned around to look for the chocolate chips that she still wanted to add to the mixture. "Ah, there" she thought, as she spotted the small bag up on one of the higher shelves of one of their kitchen cabinets. She reached for it and was surprised to feel a warm body touch against her gently from behind._

 _"Here, let me" he said as he took down the bag that he had put in the cabinet while unpacking their groceries earlier that day. Suddenly he became aware of how close he was to Sharon, and how still she had become. She was still facing the cabinet, and he was hovering behind her, feeling her body heat through the t-shirt and yoga pants that she was in the habit of wearing at home. Things had been tense between them these past few days, and Andy really wanted a way to defuse the situation. Without giving himself any time to overthink the situation, he slipped his hands around Sharon and pulled her close. A part of him was afraid that she'd stiffen and pull away, but a bigger part of him was hoping that she might let him hold her._

 _Sharon inhaled deeply, and then just let herself enjoy Andy's warmth as he pulled her close. She felt her body melting against his, and turned her head a bit towards his neck to breathe in the smell of his cologne. His hands were wrapped around her, and she covered them with her own, content to be so near Andy for a moment. She closed her eyes and just let herself feel him near while breathing in his scent._

 _Andy could feel Sharon relaxing into him, and thought he had died and gone to heaven. It had been a very long time since he had last held a woman like this. She was warm and soft, and her hair smelled the same it had on Friday night. Suddenly the memory of the comment he had made on Friday about the ring made him acutely aware that Sharon was pressed against him, and that he could feel her breathing against his neck. If he just turned her a bit, and his head a bit he'd be able to kiss her. The thought of that set Andy's pulse racing, and all of a sudden he needed to get some distance between them so that he would not embarrass himself by doing something that Sharon would not welcome._

 _"I'm going to go and, uh, shower and change" he said awkwardly. He let her go, although all he wanted was to press himself against Sharon more tightly._

 _She only hummed in response, her face hidden from him by her hair and her hands busy with opening the small bag of chocolate chips. And with that Andy made his way upstairs and missed the flustered expression on Sharon's face._

On Thursday night, Sharon had wanted to get something from the mall while Andy was in his AA meeting. They'd agreed that she'd come and pick him up after his meeting since they only had one car. Sharon was a bit early in the parking lot, waiting for Andy to finish his meeting. She had that silly smile on her face again, because she had had a good feeling about this week. That hug on Sunday while she was baking had really defused the awkwardness that they had felt in each other's company since Friday night. There had been some casual touches this week that had definitely not been there before, and sometimes Sharon could have sworn that she felt something shimmering in the air between them.

She saw Andy exiting the building and heading towards the parking lot. She was just about to start the car when she noticed a woman hurrying after Andy. From her body language it was clear that she was calling his name and when he heard he turned and smiled at her. She was beautiful. This time not what Sharon thought to be his type at all, but still stunning. She had long black hair, olive skin, and a very shapely figure. Sharon could see even from the car and in the poor lighting of the parking lot that she had a beautiful bone structure with high cheekbones and she was wearing a very short dress and dark boots that accentuated the shape of her legs.

Was this why Andy had been going to AA meetings every day for the past week? Was he interested in someone who kept showing up at the meetings? _Stop it Sharon_ , she scolded herself mentally. _It is none of you business. You are friends with him and that is that. If he wants to pursue a woman then who are you to stand in his way?_ But still, if she was completely honest with herself it stung a little bit to know that she was not his type. Sure Andy had noticed when she had worn that dark red dress, and he'd told her to keep the ring on in the bar, but at the end of the day he was not interested in her and that was that. This whole marriage was make-believe and they had no relationship other than being friends. Something in Sharon's stomach clenched painfully when she saw the woman squeeze Andy's arm and give him a beautiful smile as they parted.

He made his way to the car and greeted her, but she was not in the mood for small talk after seeing Andy with the woman and so after a few futile attempts at conversation he left her to her thoughts. _Why can't it be me that you look at like that,_ was the only thought in Sharon's head that kept repeating over and over as she drove them home. By the time she got to her room and changed into yoga pants she was ready to burst into tears.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you everyone for submitting such wonderful reviews. They keep me going. I hope you are having as much fun reading this as I am having writing it. This is a longer chapter, so enjoy!

The next morning, Sharon took extra care to conceal any evidence of her mostly sleepless night from Andy and her coworkers with makeup. She wore a dress and black boots that made her feel good about herself, but she had a sneaking feeling that Linda could see past all of that. They walked over to the café where they normally had lunch and when they were waiting for their salads Linda decided to dive right into it.

"Ok, spill it Shannon."

"What do you mean?" Sharon tried to evade, knowing already that it was futile.

"Well, something went right last Friday before we went out because you were so happy that whole evening. I could see that something was going right this entire week because you showed up every morning with an extra bounce in your step. So today, when you showed up I could see that something was not going right again because you have barely talked to me and that dreamy look is gone from your eyes."

"I uh…"

"You, my friend, are moping. And something tells me that it has to do with Drew."

All of a sudden Sharon wanted to spill her beans. She wanted to tell Linda that she had feelings for someone who was supposed to be her friend and subordinate. She wanted to tell her that Andy, or Drew as Linda knew him, was not really her husband at all. She wanted to tell Linda that she didn't know what to do when she so much wanted to be the object of Andy's interest, but knew for sure that she was not at all the type that Andy was interested in. But she couldn't. So she said nothing at all. Instead, she tried to swallow down the lump that she felt in her throat.

"Hey" Linda said as she took Sharon's hand. "It's ok Shannon. We all go through rough patches with our marriages. It's certainly nothing new to me. Mine hit a patch so rough that I decided to go down a road alone rather than with him. All I'm saying is that I'm your friend and that I'm here in case you want to talk. It doesn't need to be now or today. It can be any time that you are ready to talk."

"I just want him to look at me the way he…" Sharon had to swallow a few times before she was able to continue. "The way he looked me that night we went out felt like it was the first time he was seeing me in a long time." That was close enough to the truth. Andy had for the first time seen her as a woman that night, but he had not looked at her again with that same intensity or interest since then. And then last night that woman in the parking lot. Why could he not continue to see that Sharon was a woman as well? The thought was so painful that Sharon had to wipe away a few tears from her eyes that were threatening to ruin her makeup.

"Shannon. You need to start seeing yourself for the smart, beautiful and sexy woman that you are regardless of how Drew looks at you or doesn't look at you."

Sharon was so overcome by emotions that she was unable to talk.

"If Drew doesn't see what is right in front of him, then he doesn't deserve you honey. And if that is so, then you should maybe start letting someone who does notice you get closer to you. And honey, I can tell you that there are plenty of men even at work who have noticed you."

"What? What do you mean Linda?"

"Yup, you haven't noticed because it seems that you are completely oblivious to all the admiring looks that you get from the partners and clients, but they have noticed you for sure. The only thing holding some of them back is that ring on your finger."

"But I uh, I never…"

"No you never asked for them to notice, but trust me they _have_ noticed." Linda smiled. She had known that Sharon was not very observant when it came to the men in the office, but she was surprised that it seemed to come as a shock to her that some of the men there had definitely given her a look or two. Linda even had a sneaking suspicion that Sharon's boss Pete had a small crush on her, but wisely decided to keep that suspicion to herself.

Sharon kept swallowing until she felt the lump in her throat get smaller and was fairly sure that she'd be able to keep the tears under control.

"Thank you Linda. You are a good friend. I don't know what I'd do in this new city without you."

"It's alright honey. This is what friends are for, right?"

Sharon felt very self-conscious in the office for the rest of the day. She had a hard time believing that the men had noticed her in _that_ way. Nobody had paid any attention to her in such a long time that she was sure she'd not even recognize the signs unless someone walked up to her and kissed her on the mouth. She hadn't been out on a date since before getting married. She was completely out of practice when it came to men in her life. By the time Andy came to pick her up in the evening she felt a bit less self-conscious, but Linda had given her a lot of food for thought by suggesting that she had been completely oblivious to looks at the office.

What was left of Friday night by the time Sharon and Andy got home went by in a swirl in the kitchen, where Sharon was baking the cupcakes that she had wanted to bring to their neighbors' house tonight.

"Andy, you ready to head over to Ann and Bill's? We are supposed to be there in five minutes" Sharon called upstairs, holding the cupcake tray and still warm cupcakes.

"Uhh, yeah. Sure. Just give me a sec" came the muffled answer.

Sharon was already wearing her coat when Andy came down the stars looking like he had just woken from a deep sleep.

"Were you sleeping Andy?" Sharon smiled at him.

"No. I didn't mean to, but I was reading this book and I haven't been sleeping too well this week and so I guess I must have drifted off a bit" he looked at her sheepishly with his hair sticking up on one side of his head.

"You haven't been sleeping well?" Sharon asked as she reached out to pat his hair down.

"Yeah, I uh don't know what it is really that is keeping me…" Andy drifted off too distracted by Sharon's hand stroking his hair, trying to get his hair to settle, and the scent of her perfume enveloping him together with the smell of the freshly made cupcakes that Sharon was holding.

"Well what thoughts are keeping you awake in the night?" Sharon asked, looking him in the eye, concern evident on her face.

"Well it's just…" _you_ , he thought. _The smell of your moisturizer and mint toothpaste that still hangs in the air when I go into the bathroom in the evening to brush my teeth. The thought of you in a room down the hall, warm and soft under the covers. The thought of me holding you under those warm covers, with my hands on your…_ Andy could feel his skin starting to get flushed and hot. "…work stuff I guess" he managed to finish in a strangled voice.

"You're looking a bit flushed Andy, you sure you're not coming down with something?" Sharon asked, touching his forehead with the back of her hand gently.

"No, I'm fine Sharon. It's just stress or something" Andy lied. He had not been in this stress-free a job since joining the force. He actually had so much time on his hands that he wasn't sure what to do with it sometimes in the evenings.

"Ok, well you ready to face the neighbors then?"

"Sure. Lead the way" Andy smiled at Sharon, glad that she had stopped touching his forehead and taken a step backwards. He had a sneaking suspicion that this was going to be another sleepless night for him.

Once Sharon and Andy got over to Ann and Bill's house, it turned out that a few other neighbors had been invited over for coffee as well, so it ended up being a nice evening of getting to know many more neighbors rather than just Ann and Bill. Sharon could not help but notice that Ann had worn tight-fitting pants and an almost see-through white blouse with a white lace bra underneath. She also couldn't help but notice that Ann seemed to be touching Andy's hand and arm quite often when talking to him about his work, and that Andy seemed to have a slight blush on his face a few times. Sharon grudgingly admitted to herself that Ann had a very nice body, and that she obviously took good care of herself. She thought to herself that there were bits of her body that had been firmer 20 years ago before having two kids that would never be the same anymore.

Sharon tried to stick as close to Andy as she could, but with the way people were mingling she ended up talking to their across the street neighbors quite a lot. She was trying to steer the conversation away from her past or anything personal at all as much as she could. Everyone seemed really nice and she felt bad lying to them about so many things about herself, but she told herself it was necessary for maintaining their cover. Feeling bad about the lying, she decided that she'd go and freshen up in the bathroom a bit, before they would make their excuses and head out with Andy.

Walking along the expensive looking carpet that muffled sounds, she heard some whispering and stifled giggles coming from the kitchen. It was definitely Ann's voice, and… _it can't be. He wouldn't. Not like this,_ Sharon thought to herself, but her legs had turned into two blocks of lead and she couldn't move because she thought she had recognized Andy's voice. Suddenly she didn't know what to do. She wanted to walk in and confront them. On the other hand, Andy was not her husband. Not really anyway, so what right did she have to go and interrupt whatever was going on in there? _But for gods sakes, we are supposed to be married in the eyes of the people in this house,_ she thought to herself.

Torn between an open confrontation and wanting to just walk away, Sharon opened the door into a bathroom that had been decorated in pale purple colors. Gripping the edge of the sink she stared at herself in the mirror. She could see all the wrinkles on the corners of her eyes, and her hair seemed to be hanging limply after a long day spent at work and then baking in the kitchen. She felt herself starting to get lightheaded and realized that she was taking fast shallow breaths. _Stop Sharon. Just stop and breathe slowly. It's not what it seems to be. It can't be. Andy is not like that. He would never…,_ she thought to herself. It took her a few minutes to calm down, and all of her willpower to keep the tears at bay that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. _Ann is younger, blond, and in way better shape, so it's no wonder he is attracted to her,_ she thought to herself.

It was only when she heard people singing happy birthday in the living room that she realized she'd been in the bathroom for a while trying to calm herself down. She quickly washed her hands with cold water, splashed some of it on her neck, and made her way to the living room where people were telling Bill to make a wish and watching him blow out the candles of his cake.

"Thank you guys, thank you!" Bill was saying. "This was certainly a surprise" he said as he turned to smile at Ann, giving her a peck on the mouth in the process.

Sharon waited for her turn to hug and congratulate Bill and was surprised to feel Andy come up close behind her and gently pull her against his side. She could feel herself stiffening. She wasn't entirely sure that she was over the emotional turmoil of the last few minutes. She felt unattractive, tired, and old.

"Hey" he heard Andy's whisper into her ear. "Relax" he continued when he noticed that Sharon was as stiff as a board. But she couldn't relax, not with so many people around her and the emotional rollercoaster that she had just been on. She was so tired and there was a lump in her throat again.

She wanted to go home. LA home that was, not the house that she and Andy lived in and pretended to be something that they weren't. His arm was warm against her back and his hand on her hip felt like it was kicking Sharon's every hormone into overdrive again. She was tired of being so close to him, but so far. The mixed signals were confusing. One moment he was asking her to keep the ring on but never discussed that comment with her, the next moment he was whispering to Ann in the kitchen. She knew that he sometimes came home for lunch during the day when he was visiting prospective or existing clients who lived near them. Suddenly it all looked so obvious to her and it seemed a disgrace that she called herself a police officer with her non-existent skills of observation. An idiot would have been able to see what was going on here. She could feel the tears threatening again.

Andy could see that Sharon was not ok. She had been talking to people and seemed to have been enjoying herself all evening, but in the past 10 min while he had been in the kitchen frantically lighting the candles of Bill's cake while Ann was holding it ready to carry it out the moment all of the candles were lit, something had clearly gone wrong with Sharon.

"Hey" Andy tried again. He made eye contact with Sharon but only got a small tight smile out of her.

"What's wrong?" he whispered into her ear and kissed her hair softly.

Sharon was so overcome with emotions that she'd not have been able to talk even if she tried, so she just gave Andy another tight and this time watery smile.

Now Andy was starting to get worried. He'd never seen her this sad before. He pulled her more fully to his side and whispered "We'll just eat our cake slices and go home right after that ok? Just a few more minutes and we can go."

Andy made sure he stayed right by Sharon for the rest of the time. As soon as he finished his cake he put his arm around her shoulders and smiled at her. She was pushing her cake around the plate, not really eating it. She was forcing herself to take part in the conversation, but Andy could see that she wasn't enjoying talking with their neighbors the same way she had been earlier.

"Need help with that?" He asked and gave her a smile, pointing at the remaining cake on her plate. She hummed and nodded, giving her plate to Andy, who finished the piece in record time. He wanted to take her home and ask her what it was that had made her so sad all of a sudden.

They said their goodbyes, thanked their hosts for a lovely evening and made their way to the door very soon after that. It had been a long day and week for everyone so Andy and Sharon were not the only ones tired and eager to get home. As they were leaving, Rob and his wife Jessica repeated their invitation from earlier on in the evening to come over the following night for a barbeque in their backyard. Since they had already accepted earlier, Sharon didn't have the heart to cancel on them now, although right at this moment she wasn't sure she was really feeling up to another night like this one. Especially since Ann and Bill would be there. She did not want to see that blush on Andy's face when he talked to Ann.

Andy helped Sharon with her coat and grabbed the now empty cupcake dish with one empty hand and Sharon's hand with the other. He was not letting her go before he knew what it was that had made her so sad. He pulled her close as they made the short trip home. Her hair had the now familiar scent of shampoo and hairspray, and her hand was warm in his.

"Here, I've got it" Andy said quietly when they reached their home and proceeded to open the door for them. He didn't want to let go of Sharon's hand, but he had no choice with the keys in one hand and the cupcake dish in the other hand. As soon as he was inside, he put down the dish on the table where they usually kept their keys and helped Sharon take off her coat. She was awfully quiet, and as soon as she had taken off her shoes she went into the kitchen to put the cupcake tray in the dishwasher. Andy came in as she was closing the dishwasher and rinsing her hands.

He stepped behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders lightly.

"Sharon" he said quietly. "I can see that there is something bothering you. Will you tell me what it is so that I can help you?"

For the third time that night, Sharon felt tears threatening to spill. She dried her hands and laid her hands on the edge of countertop.

"It's nothing Andy. I'm just a bit home sick." She felt like she was choking. That damn lump was lodged in her throat, and she felt her back muscles tensing.

"Come here" Andy whispered, pulling her close and turning her around gently. He could see that her eyes were swimming in tears again. He didn't say anything, just pulled Sharon against himself and started gently rubbing her tense back with one hand. He could hear her taking deep breaths, fighting the tears. "Hey, shhhh… shhhh…" he whispered as he kept rubbing her back with one hand and gently guided her head against his shoulder with the other hand. Andy was pretty sure that he could feel tears getting the cotton of his shirt wet.

They kept holding each other for a long while. Andy felt Sharon slowly relaxing against him. Her breathing was evening out against his neck, and she didn't feel like a tensely coiled spring anymore. He focused on how good it felt to hold her like this. He buried his nose in her hair and just enjoyed breathing her scent in. He was determined to get Sharon to talk, but for now holding her was enough.

"I'm ok Andy" Sharon whispered, somewhat embarrassed. "Thank you" she said as she tried to step away from him. But Andy took hold of her arm gently, then brushed her cheek with his fingers, and rested his hand on the back of her neck.

"Tell me what got you so upset Sharon, please? Talk to me." He whispered, looking at her, although she refused to make eye contact. She was feeling acutely embarrassed over the state of her makeup. It had been a long day and crying hadn't exactly helped repair the situation.

"It was nothing. Just a lot of stress and anxiety over my kids." She quietly lied, refusing to look at Andy. When he didn't say anything she continued "…and being stuck in this town and not being able to go home. I guess it just caught up with me. I mean, we were supposed to be home by now, and we've had no word so who knows how much longer we are stuck in this situation. I miss LA. I miss Rusty and the team. I want to call Emily and Ricky, and I want to go to work. I mean my real job."

Andy pulled her to him again. He was sorry that she was feeling sad, but he was glad that at least she was talking to him now and not shutting him out.

"What about you Andy, what do you miss?"

He didn't answer right way. _Nothing,_ he wanted to say. _Everything I want is right here right now. If you are in my life then I am complete. I don't need anything else as long as I have you._ While he was lost in his thoughts searching for an answer, she looked up at him. Her makeup was all smudged around her eyes and she looked very tired. But at the same time she had never looked more beautiful to Andy. His eyes lingered on her lips.

Sharon became aware that the silence had stretched on too long between them. It was getting awkward. "I'm sorry Andy, I must look awful with my makeup all ruined and…" She said as she dropped her gaze again and took a few steps toward the stairs so that she could go and wash the day off her face and get ready for bed.

"No Sharon" Andy heard his voice say, and in one long stride he was again invading her private space. "You are so amazingly beautiful and I just…" Andy was touching her cheek gently again, not knowing where this was taking them, but wanting, no _needing_ her to know, how attractive she was even when she was not at her best. "…I get so tongue-tied sometimes and I don't know how to say it to you and I… just believe me Sharon."

Sharon's mind was racing a million miles a minute. He had just been whispering to Ann in the kitchen and God only knew what was going on between the two of them for the past weeks. And here he was, trying to make her feel better by telling her that she was beautiful. Andy was good and kind even if he was attracted to women 20 years her junior. He liked them tall, busty and blond and she was none of those things, but Andy's hand on her cheek was still making her feel all warm and flustered. She didn't know what was happening here. He was looking at her with those brown eyes of his with such emotion, and she couldn't turn her gaze away. It was frightening and thrilling all at the same time. She closed her eyes.

"Thank you Andy. I'm not… I'm not sure what to say. Thank you for holding me and thank you for wanting to make me feel better."

"Sharon, I'm here to hold you and make you feel better any time you need me. That's what friends do, right?"

Again the moment stretched. Although her eyes were closed, Sharon could feel Andy shifting closer. Andy touched his forehead to Sharon's. His lips were quarter of an inch from hers. "Sharon…" he started, then stopped. Their breaths were mingling and he wanted so badly to kiss her.

Sharon's head was spinning. She had never wanted to be wanted by a man this badly before. _Please Andy, why can't you be attracted to me,_ she thought. Then she felt Andy's hand move from her cheek and gently tilt her chin upwards. Sharon was aware of every small movement of air on her lips and then she felt the gentlest touch on her lips. She laid her palm flat on his chest and shifted so that she was closer to Andy. Her hand was trembling slightly. He pressed his lips on hers more firmly. She threaded her hand through the hair on his temple in a gentle caress.

Sharon felt Andy's tongue trace her lower lip, and let out an involuntary moan that was lost in the kiss. He removed his hand from her cheek and let it settle on her waist, pulling her against him gently, deepening the kiss. It was pure bliss to be kissing her like this. The fantasies that he had had paled in comparison to reality. The gentle pressure of her breasts against his chest felt like it was the most erotic thing he had ever experienced. She was soft and willing to be kissed, and it was a thousand times better than anything he could ever have imagined.

Somewhere in the distance Sharon could hear her phone starting to ring. That brought her back to reality. She ended the kiss abruptly. _What am I doing,_ Sharon thought to herself. Her lips were swollen and she was feeling hot all over. _He is your friend, not your husband or even boyfriend. He is your subordinate and this living together thing has really messed with your head._

The phone kept ringing somewhere.

"I umhhh… I need to get that" she mumbled without looking at Andy. She fumbled through her purse and found the insistently ringing phone. She'd left it there at the end of the day since she didn't have many people calling her in the evenings.

"Hey Linda. Uh, no, it's not a bad time at all." Sharon cringed with her back towards Andy. If only Linda knew what she had interrupted. "No go ahead, what's on your mind" she said after a small pause.

Andy leaned against the wall in the hallway. He felt hot. He wanted to continue what the phone had interrupted. He wanted her. The reality had been so much better than what he had ever imagined during those sleepless nights.

"Uhhuh. Ok. Well why don't you…" Sharon passed him in the hallway and took a few steps into the kitchen to continue the conversation with Linda. He didn't follow, wanting to give her privacy. He closed his eyes, reliving the last few moments. He knew he was falling for her, and fast. It had been getting harder and harder to spend time with Sharon and convince himself that they were just friends. He heard Sharon finish the call, telling Linda to give her another call later if she felt like it.

"Sorry" Sharon stepped back into the hallway after a few minutes, interrupting Andy's train of thought. "She sounded really upset. It was about the guy she's been seeing that she met in the bar." Sharon wasn't quite meeting his eyes. She'd taken a moment to compose herself and clear her head in the kitchen before facing Andy again.

He took a step closer to her and grabbed her hand.

"It's ok Sharon."

"I uh. I should probably get ready for bed." She was touching her hair nervously and still not meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, uhhh…"

"Andy I think that what happened here tonight-

"About that-"

"Well I think we both got a bit carried away with the intensity of the moment." Sharon's voice sounded shaky. She was looking everywhere but at him.

Andy stared at her. His heart was breaking into a million pieces. He wanted to push her against the wall and feel her breasts pressed against his chest again. He wanted to kiss her breathless. But here Sharon was, trying to tell him politely that it had been something that had happened in the heat of the moment. In other words, _a mistake_. His life was such a cliché he wanted to laugh out loud.

"Uhh, right. Right Sharon. I think you may be right-" he couldn't believe he was saying that, but keeping her as a friend was more important than anything. He needed her like a fish needed water to survive. If all they could have was friendship then that's what he'd take.

"Thank you for being my friend Andy" she said. It sounded weak and lame to her own ears, but it was all she could manage before stepping away from him and going upstairs to get ready for bed.

"Always" Andy whispered to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Sharon did not come out of her room until it was time to have lunch. Despite being dead tired, she had not been able to fall asleep until the small hours of the morning. She kept reliving the kiss over and over in her mind. It had felt good to be kissed like that and she felt herself getting all hot and bothered under the covers even just thinking about it, but what were they really doing?

They were friends and coworkers in their real lives. She wasn't Andy's girlfriend or even type for that matter. Getting involved with Andy was a very bad idea in their current situation. Even if they could somehow get it to work now, it would never work back in LA when she had a squad to run and he was one of the detectives in the said squad. Letting herself get closer to Andy in this situation or any other, had disaster written all over it.

The atmosphere was very tense between them when Sharon finally emerged from her room. Both were thinking of the implications of the kiss for their friendship and working relationship. Andy felt torn between telling her he wanted more than friendship and just letting it go. They decided to go and get groceries right after Sharon had had a bite to eat, since Andy wanted to make a dish for the BBQ party that they had been invited to and needed some time to prepare it. Sharon was relieved to get out of the house for a bit, even if it was with Andy.

Sharon liked grocery shopping and didn't mind taking her time in the store, but she had quickly realized after they had come to Washington that for Andy grocery shopping was a necessary evil and that he tried to get in and out as fast as possible.

SSSSSSSS

"So do you want to divide and conquer like last time?" Andy asked. He was upset with himself and the uncomfortable tension that he had put between them yesterday by kissing her.

"Sure. I'll go get the dairy products if you go invade the fresh produce section" Sharon said absentmindedly. They would need yogurt, milk and eggs at least.

"Did you need something from there?" she continued.

"Yeah, if you could grab some cream cheese, that would be great"

"Ok, I'll come and find you when I have everything"

"Sure" Andy said, already reaching for the nearby potatoes with one hand.

Sharon got what she needed in the dairy section and started pushing the cart back towards the fresh produce when she heard someone calling her name.

"Shannon"

"Oh hi Pete" she said as she turned around and saw her boss.

"I thought it was you" he said as she turned around and smiled. Shannon sure had a beautiful smile he thought to himself once again.

"So you getting your groceries done for the weekend?" Sharon asked, just to have something to talk about.

"Yeah, had to come and get a few things. I like to cook, but I haven't really cooked much since… well you know. Since Amanda passed away." Pete gave her a sheepish smile, not meaning to bring up such a sad topic.

"Right, yeah I can imagine it's different cooking for one person instead of two."

Right at that moment Andy made an appearance at Sharon's left side. He had noticed her talking to some guy and had wanted to put some of the vegetables he had picked out in their cart. He smiled at Sharon warmly, and touched her shoulder lightly not to startle her with his appearance while he was reaching into the cart to put down the vegetables.

"Oh, Pete, this is my husband Drew." Sharon felt very strange saying that after the events of last night. It was not the first time that she was introducing Andy as her husband, but it just felt weird and uncomfortable after the previous night's events.

"Hi, Pete. It's nice to meet you. You're Shannon's boss, right?"

"Hello Drew. Likewise nice to meet you, and yes, although she sure doesn't need anyone to boss her around. Shannon's pretty remarkable, and I don't actually know how we ever got along without her before" Pete smiled at Sharon.

The men shook hands and Sharon felt Andy's hand land on her arm as they continued to talk about their weekend plans. Pete had taken part in a charity run that morning and had come to get some burger supplies for the evening, which he laughingly said he had earned by doing the morning run. They chatted for a while and again the men shook hands to say goodbye. Sharon smiled at Pete as he left to get the rest of the things he'd need.

"He seems like a nice guy."

"Oh yes, he is. And he is remarkably fit and active for his age. It's good though, because at least he isn't sitting at home and thinking about his wife who passed away some time ago."

"Yes, that is very good"

"Hmmh" Sharon just hummed.

Once they got home, Andy started chopping up the vegetables that he was going to use for the dish that he was making. Sharon took out a book and lay down on the couch to read. The tension in the air was noticeable, and she would rather have escaped to her room, but she figured that the longer she put off being in Andy's presence, the longer it would take for things to start feeling normal again. She was feeling a bit chilled, so she spread a blanket over herself. She was listening to the domestic sounds coming from the kitchen and slowly realized that she was still tired from last night. Her eyes drifted closed, and she snoozed off for a while.

 _It had been a fun evening at the movies. Andy had surprised her by pulling out a bag of M &M's when the movie started. They didn't normally buy any treats for movies, but this time they had been laughing and munching on them until about halfway through movie, when he covered her hand with his and scooted a bit closer. The scent of his aftershave enveloped her and the whisper in her ear that she could have the last one felt like an intimate caress._

 _She surprised herself by scooting closer to Andy and whispering back "We can share the last one". He turned to look at her with a surprised expression on his face. She reached for the last one and placed it between her lips, holding it so that it was only half in her mouth. His eyes darkened and suddenly he was looking at her with a lot more intensity than before. He moved closer and caressed her cheek lightly with his right hand. Sharon could feel his fingertips touching the side of her neck softly, landing on her collarbone. Just when she was about to lose her nerve, Andy touched his lips to hers carefully._

 _The combination of the sweet chocolate and salty peanut on Sharon's lips had him pull her a bit closer. He licked Sharon's lips softly, but hesitantly. He wasn't sure how far she was willing to take this. She opened her lips a bit and kissed him softly, with her tongue running over his lower lip. Andy could feel himself starting to feel a bit overheated, but when he made to break the kiss he felt Sharon shift closer to him, or as close as the armrest between them would allow._

 _She stroked the back of his head softly, and didn't let him break the kiss until they both had to come up for some air. Sharon leaned her forehead against Andy's shoulder to avoid looking at him for fear of losing her nerve. She hadn't planned on doing this. It had just happened. She felt Andy's hand under her chin, and then they were kissing again. His lips were soft and warm and his tongue was driving her crazy. She could feel liquid heat pooling at her core. She wanted to get closer, but the damn armrest with the cup holder was between them._

 _"Sharon, I think we need to get out of here" Andy whispered to her, and grabbed her hand. She felt embarrassed when they made their way out of the row and had to step over people's bags and feet. She hated when people did that in the dark in the middle of the movie._

 _They made their way down the steps of the theater and towards the exit sign that was glowing in the dark. Andy's hand felt sweaty and hot around hers. He pulled her through the first doors into that dimly lit space that always separates the theater from the brightly lit waiting space and she found herself being pushed gently against the black wall. He looked at her with those brown eyes as though she was the most desirable woman he had ever seen. Then he was kissing her again, and her arms went around his neck, pulling him closer. She lost all sense of time and the only thing that mattered to her was that Andy never stopped kissing her like that. She could feel him nudging his thigh between her legs in an effort to get closer to her. Sharon felt her legs shaking when she made space for him. And then the pressure of his thigh against her center was making her feel all sorts of things that she had not felt in years._

"Hey, sleeping beauty" she was brought back to reality by Andy's voice. He was kneeling next to the couch with her book in his hand, looking at her with those brown eyes that she had just been dreaming of.

"Oh, I must have dozed off" she said, blushing although she knew Andy was not a mind reader even if he was a very good detective.

"Yeah, you've been asleep for a good hour now, so I wanted to wake you to see if you wanted to continue sleeping. It might be hard to fall asleep in the evening if you sleep much more now."

"You're right Andy. I should try to stay awake so that I can get some shut-eye in the night." She sat up slowly, her muscles and body still relaxed and warm from her nap.

"You wanna watch TV or something?" Andy suggested.

"Sure."

"I can make us some popcorn if you choose a program while I make it?"

"Sounds like a great deal" Sharon smiled at him. She chose a channel and laid her head down on the back of the couch. Andy was back in a few minutes with the popcorn bowl.

They watched TV in silence, their hands touching occasionally when they reached for popcorn at the same time. It felt like a jolt of electricity passing through Andy's body every time they accidentally touched. He realized that he was hyper aware of Sharon's presence after last night's events. It hadn't helped that she had looked so beautiful waking up from her nap. He had wanted to pull her to his side and bury his face in her hair to inhale her scent. He wanted to slip his hands under her top and touch the soft warm skin underneath while he nuzzled her neck. _Ok, you need to stop right now,_ he thought to himself, blushing. He hoped Sharon wouldn't notice. He felt relieved when the timer on his phone went off a few minutes later and he was able to excuse himself to the kitchen to take care of the food he had prepared for the barbeque evening.

SSSSSSS

Many of the same people were present at Rob and Jessica's house that had been at the gathering at Ann and Bill's house the previous night. The dish that Andy had brought was a hit, and he was happy that people were enjoying the food that he had made.

He was fairly surprised when Ann started asking him detailed questions about the security systems that his company designed for private customers. She told him that she and Bill had been thinking about getting a system for a while now. Andy was confused because their area was not unsafe at all, and hadn't had trouble with burglars as far as he knew. He told Ann all of that, but she still insisted that she'd feel safer with a system in place when Bill was out of town. Andy had a hard time focusing on the questions that Ann was asking because Sharon had decided to wear a pair of figure-hugging dark jeans for the evening that had Andy's imagination racing. She was absolutely stunning, no matter what she wore, but the tight dark blue jeans and a black small jacket were definitely a distraction for him, and he found his eyes wonder in the direction of Sharon quite often.

The later it got, the cooler it started getting, and Andy could feel himself starting to get a bit cold sitting out in the back, although Rob had installed outdoor heaters a few years back as he had proudly told Andy.

"Hey, I'm going to run back home to change into my warmer coat. Did you want me to bring you anything?" He touched Sharon's hand to get her attention.

"Oh. Uh, yeah. If you could bring my blue scarf, that would be wonderful. But I'm not sure if it's downstairs. If it's not then it's in-" She just caught herself before saying _my room_ aloud. Not that anyone was paying attention to their conversation, but she didn't want them to know that they were not sharing a room. "-in the top drawer of my dresser".

"I'll bring it" Andy said with a smile.

"Thank you" she smiled back at him before turning back to the conversation she had been listening to.

Andy made his way across the street and a few houses down to their house. He changed coats and felt better immediately now that he was warmer again. He couldn't see Sharon's scarf on any of the coat hangers, so he made his way up to her room. In the time that he they had lived in this house, he had never been to Sharon's room except for the first day when he had tried to make her feel better about being in Tacoma in the first place. The room had a faint smell of her perfume, and everything was where it was supposed to be. He would not have expected anything less from Sharon. Andy glanced at the neatly made bed. _Don't even go there,_ he thought to himself.

He pulled open the top drawer of her dresser and grabbed the blue scarf that she had asked for. When he pushed it shut, he noticed that the drawer directly under it was open just a crack but he had not realized before because the top one had been open a bit as well, concealing the small gap. He got a glimpse of some black and pink lace and quickly turned his eyes away. It felt like an invasion of privacy to have caught a glimpse of Sharon's underwear. Turning his eyes away from the dresser, he realized that he was now looking at her bed again. _Oh god_ , he thought. But it was already too late and he couldn't stop his brain from forming the image of Sharon lying on the bed in nothing but black lace. He swallowed and took a shaky breath. _Pull it together Andy. You took your chances yesterday and she basically told you that it was a mistake. She is not interested, so get her out of you head old boy._

When Andy got back to the party he handed Sharon the scarf. She smiled at him sweetly, and he could not help wonder for a split second what kind of underwear she was wearing under her clothes. He turned away quickly, not wanting Sharon to see the look in his eyes. He was almost relieved when Ann asked if he could come and help her bring out the dessert from the kitchen.

Andy was confused, but followed into the house and kitchen. In many ways it felt like déjà vu. She had asked for his help with the candles the previous night as well, although they barely knew each other.

She had made tiramisu for dessert, so she asked Andy to take it out of the fridge as she busied herself taking out the necessary bowls and spoons. Ann seemed to know her way around in this kitchen, so Andy figured that she must be good friends with Rob and Jessica. He leaned over to take out the two dishes from the fridge when he felt something warm press against his backside. He was so startled by it that he hit his head against the freezer door that was above the fridge when he straightened up quickly. Ann was right behind him, in his personal space, so he turned around confused.

"Uhh, Ann." Andy was at a complete loss of words. What the hell was she doing?

"Drew" she said as she closed the last few inches remaining between them. She was so close to him that he could feel her body heat on his skin. "I've noticed that you and Shannon don't seem so – how should I put it now – close perhaps?"

Andy didn't have time to react before she continued. "And Drew-" she continued and touched his lower lip with her index finger "I think you should know that Bill and I haven't, well, been close, for a while now. I've noticed that you don't even sleep in the same room with your wife" she continued in a whisper.

Andy took a step back. "Ann, I, uh" he was almost stammering. This was so unexpected. He was embarrassed that Ann had picked up on the fact that Sharon and he were not romantically involved. It would be easy enough to see from the house next door that they went to bed in different rooms at different times every night. The thought got him wondering that if she had noticed, then who else would have noticed. He took a step further, his back towards the kitchen windows and counter, but she took a step closer, touching his chin with her fingertips in a gentle caress.

"I uh, I'm flattered but uh…" Andy didn't know what was coming out of his mouth. "I'm married" he finally managed to get out. She caressed his face even more insistently now. "Ann, I'm married and you need to stop" he said more forcefully, putting his hand out to push Ann's hand away from his face. Just then, he saw Sharon step into view with two empty beer bottles in her hand. She had probably heard that last comment. Their eyes met, and Andy realized what the situation must seem like to Sharon. Ann had her back to the doorway so she never noticed Sharon. "I'm married too, but it never stopped me before-" she continued again and reached again for Andy's face. Sharon's face went completely blank, and Andy stiffened. Ann's comment made it sound as though they had had something going on for a while now.

Sharon turned without a word and placed the two empty bottles on a table in the hallway. _I can't believe this,_ she thought. _The way he kissed me yesterday and now this-_ her mind was spinning out of control and she felt the room around her starting to spin as well. She reached out a hand to lean against the wall in order to stabilize herself. _Oh God, oh God, oh God…_ and then Andy was there, right next to her.

"Nothing happened Sharon. Nothing. She came onto me out of bl-" he was saying in a quiet voice right next to her. He knew instinctively that she would not want to cause a scene.

"Stop it Andy" Sharon heard the steel in her whisper, although she didn't have a clue where it was coming from because she was ready to collapse and she was very grateful for the solid wall behind her back. "Just stop. I don't want to hear it. Whatever is between the two of you it is none of my business because there is nothing like that between us. You are free to-" She was angry as hell, but at the same time she couldn't continue. The words were out of her mouth, but she wanted to double up in pain.

"Sharon there is nothing-"

"Just don't Andy. Just don't. Just… keep it discreet" she managed to finish in a strangled whisper. "I don't want our neighbors to see that-" She couldn't continue because she knew that the tears were near so she straightened herself up and walked out into the backyard and smiled brightly at the first person she saw. She would get through this night if it killed her. She'd smile, talk, laugh and be happy and then she'd go home and fall apart in the privacy of her own room. And that was exactly what she did.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for the feedback guys. **Littlesweetcupcake** what you asked for is coming soon. **Justasofty** I'm not sure how many chapters there will be in total. It's actually already twice as long as I had planned. **MCTVFan** I'm glad you enjoy it because I have enjoyed reading your stories!

The next few weeks were tense between Sharon and Andy. They spoke about mundane things like the weather and grocery list, but their friendly conversations had become few and far between. Sharon tried to pretend like she didn't care if Andy was having an affair, but deep down she was deeply hurt by the thought. She hated the tense drives to work in the morning, and so she got a car just so that she didn't need to depend on Andy taking her every morning. It seemed like such a waste when they didn't know when this weird fake life would come to and end and they'd be able to go back to LA, but she was very happy to have the freedom of movement again.

She started paying more attention to what she was wearing. Not that her appearance had ever been anything but impeccable, but she went out shopping with Linda and got a few nice dresses that made her feel pretty. She got a new hair straightener as well, and spent an extra five minutes in front of the mirror every morning, making sure that she felt presentable. She didn't have Ann's body, but she had lost a few pounds in the past few weeks because she didn't really feel like eating much. Work was busy, and she started spending more time at the office, helping Pete in order to avoid going home and being alone with Andy or in her room.

Andy noticed that she rarely came home before 7 anymore, and that she had started skipping breakfasts and had lost some weight as a result. He hated the situation between them. He felt that he had lost her entirely although they lived in the same house and saw each other every day. He wanted their friendship back. His sleepless nights were spent on fantasizing about her in the black lace underwear he had accidentally seen. He went to a meeting every night and usually sat through two since he knew that Sharon would just be up in her room reading a book on most nights. He had nothing to look forward to at home anymore.

SSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Hi everybody. I'm Drew and I'm an alcoholic. I've been sober for almost twenty years. Many of you know that I've been coming to meetings every day for the past several weeks. You've seen me here. I don't normally speak, I just listen, but I guess I've reached a crossroads of some sort tonight because there's something I need to speak about. It's either that or find myself a bar having a shot of whisky, and we all know how that ends." Andy took a deep shaky breath. He was not used to bearing his soul to strangers, but here he was and he knew he needed to get this out tonight. The situation with Sharon was killing him slowly and he had to talk about it. He missed her so much.

"I am in this very complicated situation with someone who means a great deal to me. My best friend I guess I could say." He swallowed and forced himself to continue. "I've come to realize that I'm falling for her. No that's not right… If I am completely honest with myself, I think that I fell for her a long time ago. She is so amazing both inside and outside. She is kind and caring. She is so beautiful that it takes my breath away. But she… she doesn't see me in that way. Recently something happened between us that gave me hope that we could maybe… have something some day. But then something else happened. A misunderstanding of sorts and… she thought that I was having…" Andy swallowed a few times before he could continue. Speaking about what had transpired between him and Sharon was so painful.

"She saw something and completely misinterpreted it, and we have been drifting apart since then. She said that… well, it doesn't matter what she said. I just… I miss her so much. It hurts me to think that she thinks that…" Andy was too overcome by emotion to continue. He hung his head and rubbed his face with his hand. He needed to call his sponsor so badly, but here he was in the witness protection program, unable to call anyone he knew. Hell, he'd even settle for Provenza right now, but that path was closed for him as well. "Anyway, I just… that's all I can say tonight." He made his way back to his seat. It was a relief to get it out, but it still hurt so badly that he was unable to listen to the people who spoke after him until the end of the meeting.

"Hey" he smiled at Bella on his way out. She had come in a bit late and sat at the back tonight. They didn't exactly know each other, but they had seen each other often enough in the past month or so that Andy felt like they were not complete strangers either.

"I heard you talk."

"Yeah. I needed to." Andy smiled sadly.

"Listen, I don't know anything else than what you just said now, but I think you need to talk to her. I think you should tell her how badly you are hurting. From the sounds of it, I don't think it would hurt for her to know how you are feeling."

"Yeah, it's just that it's complicated."

"Talk to her Drew. For your own sake, and for her sake."

"Thanks Bella. Thanks for the advice. I'll try if the right opportunity presents itself."

SSSSSSSSSSSS

The next day Andy was in the middle of a meeting with prospective clients when his phone rang. It was a local number, so he ignored the call, thinking that it was a client calling and that he'd call them back after the meeting. When the same number called for the third time in the space of a half an hour, however, he excused himself and went to take the call.

"Hello"

"Hello, this is nurse Keren Smith. I'm calling from Tacoma Mercy Hospital and I'm trying to reach a Mr. Johnson."

"Speaking" Andy's heart was hammering in his chest. Had something happened to Sharon?

"Mr. Johnson are you driving right now?"

"No I'm not" Andy heard himself say, knowing that if the nurse had reason to ask him that it meant she had something to say that would comes as a shock.

"Sir, I'm calling you today because your wife has been in a car accident."

Andy was already fumbling for the keys of his car by the time the nurse had finished the word accident. "Her car was hit and she sustained some injuries but she is ok. She has a mild concussion and what seems to be a sprained wrist, but we wanted you to know that we are going to be taking her in for an MRI soon just to make sure that there is no swelling or bleeding in the brain."

"Ok, I'm coming. Mercy Hospital you said?"

"Yes sir, Mercy Hospital"

Andy had no idea if the nurse had something else to say because he had already ended the call. He stepped back into the meeting room to explain to the prospective client and his colleague Mark that he needed to go because his wife had been in a car accident.

"Oh my god Drew, I hope she is ok."

"Yeah they said that she's ok, but they just took her in for an MRI to make sure that there is no swelling in her brain so I need to go."

"Just go Drew. Don't worry about anything, just go."

Andy was already out of the door before Mark had had time to finish the sentence.

By the time he burst through the emergency room doors he had not calmed down at all. He spotted Pete sitting in one of the chairs. What the hell was he doing here? Had he been in the car with Sharon?

"Pete. Where is she?" Andy had no time for niceties. His hair was sticking up wildly because he had not stopped running his hand through it on his way to the hospital. A million and one thoughts had gone through his head on the drive over to the hospital, none of them good.

"Drew. She's ok." Pete tried to calm him down.

"Where is she? What happened? I need to see her."

"They just took her to the MRI. They said it'd take about 30 minutes. You can see her when they bring her back. She was alert and asking for you. She gave us your number to call and she was ok. The MRI is just a precaution to make sure that everything is ok. She has a sprained wrist, so they put a splint on her wrist, but it seems that there are no broken bones so she won't need a cast."

Andy pressed the palm of her hand on his forehead as he took the information in. Pete was calm and collected, and Andy felt anything but. He just wanted to see that Sharon was ok. He needed to hold her and see that she was ok.

He sat down and buried his face in his hands. _I need to tell her how sorry I am about everything. I want her friendship back. I need things to be the way they were before. She makes me a better person and I can't be without her anymore_ , he thought to himself. Sharon had become such an integral part of his life that he couldn't see his life without her anymore. It was ok if they were just friends, he just needed her back in his life in some form. Peter could see how distraught he was so he did not make any attempt to engage him in a polite conversation after explaining that Sharon had had the hospital call him because Andy had not been picking up and they needed to taker her in for the MRI.

"Drew" he heard at the same time that he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see Sharon getting up from a wheelchair. He didn't think, just acted on pure instinct, closed the space between them and pulled her to him.

"Oh God I was so worried" he whispered into her ear. "Please don't do that to me ever again". He could feel the tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over. He was so in love with her that it hurt. He held her gently, just giving himself some time to feel her warm body and heartbeat. She was stiff at first, but then she relaxed against him, just like she had a few weeks ago that night that he had kissed her.

"Are you ok?" he said as he stepped back a bit to give her some space and to get a look at her.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just a small concussion that comes with a headache and nausea, and my wrist is sprained so it has to stay in this for a while" she said, holding up her right hand that was in a splint.

She looked at Pete who was standing next to Andy. He stepped closer to her to give her a hug and smiled at her. "Nothing shakes you, eh Shannon? I'm glad you're ok."

"So what did the doctor say? Can I take you home?" Andy asked, annoyed that Pete was here. He was upset with himself that he had not picked up the phone right away.

"He's going to come and talk to us soon. He's looking at the MRI results now."

Sharon sat down between Andy and Pete. He was thankful that Andy did not want to let go of her, and kept stroking her hand with his thumb. It had a calming effect and she was glad that Andy was there for her. They sat in silence until the doctor came to give Sharon her results.

"Mrs. Johnson. Hi. Any improvement with the nausea or dizziness?"

"Hi doctor. They come and go. The headache doesn't seem to be getting any worse though." Sharon smiled at the tall man who had approached her and stood up.

"Well, we looked at the MRI images and they confirm that you have a slight concussion. I'm going to ask you to go home and rest for the next 48 hours. I don't want you to be up on your feet too much, and I definitely do not want you to go to work. Is there someone who can stay with you and wake you up every few hours for the first 12 hours that you are home to check that you are conscious and ok?"

Sharon touched Andy's arm lightly and met his eyes.

"Yes doctor, I'm her husband and I can look after her at home" Andy said. He rubbed her back gently and let his arm circle her waist, pulling her to his side. At that moment he didn't care what Sharon thought of his actions. He needed to feel her close. On a primordial level that he would never admit to, he wanted Pete to see that Sharon was his.

"The splint will need to stay on for at least five days as it will speed up the healing. As much as you can, keep the hand elevated above your heart and take some of the pain pills that I prescribed for any pain. You can put ice on it to lessen the swelling." He smiled at Sharon.

"Yes doctor" she said obediently.

"Please make sure that she rests for the next 48 hours. Preferably in bed with as little exertion as possible and the splint should not come off before she comes in for a checkup" the doctor said, looking straight at Andy. It was almost comical how the doctor had been able to pick up on Sharon's stubbornness in the time that they had spent together while he was assessing her injuries when she had been brought in.

The doctor signed off her release forms and they started walking towards the exit slowly. Sharon hugged Pete once they were out in the bright sunlight.

"Thank you for coming Pete. I really appreciate it" she said as she smiled at him. Andy shook Pete's hand as well and thanked him for being there for Sharon when he had not been reached.

"Don't worry about it Shannon. Rest and get better, and don't even think about coming in for the rest of the week. We will send you home if you show up." He grinned. In the past month or so that Sharon had been working at the office, he had come to know her and would not have been surprised to see Sharon back at work tomorrow morning even when she had strict doctor's orders to rest.

They waved Pete bye and started towards Andy's car.

SSSSSSSSSS

The first thing that Sharon wanted to do when she got home was to shower and change. She was feeling tired, nauseous and dizzy, and had a pretty bad headache thanks to the concussion. She didn't want to ruin her dress, so she was not going to lay down on her bed in it for fear of falling asleep. Her wrist was aching, so she could not use her right hand to open the clasp at the back. She managed to get it open with her left hand, but the zipper would not budge no matter what she did. She needed two hands for it, but her right hand was useless for the moment.

"Andy" she called. Mortified that she'd need to ask him help for undressing herself.

"Yeah" he called back from downstairs where he was preparing them a light lunch.

"I need a bit of help"

"Hold on, I'll be right there. I'll just turn the stove off"

Sharon sat down on her bed. This was so embarrassing. She did _not_ want Andy undressing her after the tension of the past few weeks. She took out her yoga pants and the tank top that she wanted to change into and laid them out on the bed. She waited for him to come up.

"What's up? Are you feeling ok?" There was concern in his voice.

"I'm fine Andy. I just… I can't open the zipper of my dress with just one functioning hand" she said, lifting her wrist up for emphasis.

"Oh, ok. Let me help you"

She stood up and Andy stepped closer to her. He could smell her hair and her perfume. This wasn't the place or the time for fantasies, but Andy could not help taking a shaky breath when he reached for the zipper at Sharon's back. It was not the way he wanted to undress her. _Oh god, stop it right now,_ he thought. _She was in a car accident and she has a concussion and a sprained wrist and you still can't stop thinking about her like that._ He focused on the task at hand and pulled the zipper down about half way. The purple bra that he got a glimpse of made him swallow again, and he let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. He wanted to open the dress all the way down so that he could see if she was wearing matching purple lace panties.

"Can you manage it from there?" His voice sounded rough.

Sharon reached back with her left hand and found that she could indeed get a hold of the zipper. The tugged it down an inch to see if she could manage.

"Yeah, I think I'm good. Thanks" she said without looking at him. Her back was covered in goose bumps although she was feeling very hot all of a sudden. She had felt the breath that Andy had exhaled on the skin of her back and all the way down in her toes.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me"

"Thanks Andy" she said quietly.

She managed to undress and then dress herself with just one hand and sat down after she was done. The nausea that had come and gone in the hospital was back again, so she decided to lay down on the bed for a bit before making her way downstairs. She must have dozed off for a minute, because the next moment that she came to, Andy was stroking her cheek asking her if she was ok. She could see the concern in his eyes. She felt a bit dizzy when she sat up, and held onto Andy as they made their way down towards the kitchen. Andy had heated some of yesterday's asparagus soup for them. He had some bread ready for her as well, but Sharon wasn't that hungry and she could feel the nausea retuning again. Andy helped her back upstairs and into bed. It felt very intimate for him to be in her room while she was under the covers, helping her with such mundane everyday tasks as getting into bed. It felt good to be cared for, though. Sharon really wasn't feeling so great with the headache and the pulsing in her wrist. She took another pain pill that the doctor had prescribed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

She came to again about an hour later when Andy woke her up to check that she was ok. He asked her who the current president was and then let her fall asleep again. The next time he woke her up she noticed that he had brought in a chair from his room and was holding a book in his hand when he gently woke her up. It was sweet of him to keep watch by her bedside incase she woke and needed something. She still felt tired, so she fell asleep again soon.

The night went by like that. Andy stayed with her and set his alarm to go off quietly every hour so that he could wake Sharon up. At some point after it had gotten dark already, Sharon woke up of her own volition, only to find Andy snoozing in the chair that he had brought in. He did not look very comfortable, and Sharon was sure that he'd have a neck ache in no time if he stayed like that. She sat up quietly and found that it didn't cause the same level of nausea or dizziness as it had earlier in the day. She had slept a good 6 hours and felt better, although her wrist was pulsing faintly again.

She reached out for his hand. "Andy" she whispered. "Andy, wake up."

"Huh?" he looked around, confused. His eyes focused on Sharon. "Are you ok? Do you feel sick? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

"No I'm fine Andy" she smiled at his confused state. He must be exhausted too. She looked at her phone that was on the nightstand. It was nearly 1AM. She should be sound asleep, but instead she felt alert and slightly uncomfortable because of her wrist.

"I think I need to go take another pain pill, and I might want to try putting some ice on my wrist."

"Oh ok. Here, let me help you." Andy held onto her elbow as he helped her up. His alarm went off and he swiped his phone to silence it.

"That's the Sharon Raydor I know, always on time. Even when she has a concussion and needs to be woken once an hour." He smiled at her, but resisted the impulse to hug her to him.

They made their way downstairs and Sharon took her pill. She sat down at the kitchen table while Andy prepared the ice for her wrist. He set the towel with the ice on the table and Sharon laid it gently on the splint and her injured wrist.

She hummed as she put the cool towel on her wrist.

They sat in silence for a while. Andy was sipping water and Sharon was waiting for the pain pill to start working. The ice felt good against her heated wrist. The moment was very peaceful. It was a comfortable silence, unlike the silences that they had shared since the events at Rob and Jessica's house a few weeks ago.

Sharon laid her head against the backrest of the chair. It wasn't comfortable but she closed her eyes and just let herself enjoy the peace and quiet and the coolness of the ice.

"Are you in pain?" She heard the concern in Andy's voice.

"Not more so than I was in the afternoon. I'll be ok Andy. Don't worry" she said gently. He didn't speak again, just studied her features and thought of how things had gone so wrong between the two of them. He wanted to kiss her and hold her. He wanted to tell her that there was absolutely nothing going on between Ann and him, and that there never had been. But it wasn't the right time so he kept his silence. She was in pain and she needed to rest and recover before they could have that talk. Since she had been injured on a Wednesday, she'd stay home for the rest of the week, and he had already called his boss to tell him that he needed to stay and take care of her for the rest of the week. He'd maybe go in on Friday for a half-day, but his boss had been very understanding and told him to take as many days as he needed to take care of Sharon.

Once the pain pill started working Sharon felt herself get drowsy again. She made her way upstairs and into bed while Andy tidied up the kitchen. She got into bed and absolutely refused to fall asleep before Andy had promised to go and sleep in his own bed. She would not be responsible for any neck or back pain the following day that Andy was going to suffer if he stayed in her room and that uncomfortable chair. He grudgingly gave up and trudged to his own bed, only to be woken up an hour later again by the alarm.

He woke her up again and it was very hard to return to his own bed after seeing her warm and relaxed in her bed, looking at him with those sleepy eyes. He wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers with her and fall asleep while holding her. He had a hard time falling asleep in what felt like an empty and cold bed.

SSSSSSSSSSS

Andy stayed home the next day and just looked after Sharon. She was gradually starting to feel a bit better. She managed to take a shower with just one hand and even washed her hair. She didn't attempt to straighten her hair or put on any makeup. She felt pretty drained after the simple task of taking a shower, so she got dressed and fell asleep on her bed again.

She woke to Andy hovering over her bed. Under normal circumstances she would have been annoyed that he had come into her room without permission, but the door was open and she knew he wanted to check up on her. He kneeled down next to her bed.

"I made vegetarian lasagna. Do you want to come down and have a bite? You've barely eaten today."

"Sure Andy. I'll come and eat." Sharon felt a bit self-conscious without any makeup on and with her hair all curled up and crazy, but she was getting a bit hungry too. The nausea had passed and she only had a slight remaining headache.

"This is really good Andy."

"I'm glad you like it. I realized today that I hadn't made it at all since we came to Tacoma."

"Well you can make this any time you want. I won't complain." Sharon smiled at Andy and helped herself to some more food.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. The swelling has gone down and I only took half a pain pill this morning for the headache. I don't feel nauseous or dizzy any more. I'm on the mend."

"I'm glad." He smiled at her.

They ate the rest of the food in a comfortable silence. It was strange that the silence felt comfortable again after those tense few weeks. After they finished their meal, Andy cleared the kitchen again, while Sharon sat on the couch and flipped through a magazine absent-mindedly.

Andy came and sat next to her, not quite touching her.

"Sharon, I need to talk to you about something."

Sharon put down the magazine at that. It sounded as though Andy had something important to say. She didn't remember him ever sounding this vulnerable before.

"Ok" she nodded her head, looking at him and letting him continue.

"These past few weeks have been hard on me. It's been… hard for me, because… well, because I have been in a lot of pain over what happened at Rob and Jessica's house."

Sharon didn't say anything. She was terrified of having this inevitable conversation.

"It hurts me so much Sharon, to think that you think that I would fool around with someone while you and I are, well, pretending to be married to each other." Andy was looking down at his hands. "I need you to know that I would never betray you like that. And… It hurts me that we are not as close as we used to be anymore. I've been going to meetings every night because I'm really struggling because of the pain that the events of that night caused me." He was very careful not to say that he was also hurt by the fact that Sharon had told him to go ahead and have an affair, as long as he was discreet. He was so attracted to her that he had not even looked at another woman in that way in more than a year. If he was honest to himself, he knew that he was so in love that no other woman could ever come close to Sharon no matter who they were.

"Oh Andy" Sharon let out and moved to sit right next to him so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders. She missed him too. She missed their outings and their easy conversations. She had given it a lot of thought and she wanted and needed to trust that if Andy said that there was nothing going on between Ann and him, then nothing was going on.

"I miss you too." She whispered and swallowed a few times before she could continue. "I know that you are kind and good, and if you say that there is nothing between you and Ann, then I believe you. I do. I believe that you are not the kind of a man who would go and have an affair, even if this is all make believe and not real. I trust you Andy" She felt Andy wrap his arms around her middle and hold her close. His chin was lying on top of her head, and she laid her head on his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat. She could smell his cologne and feel his pulse against her cheek. She slipped her arms around him the best she could with the splint, and curled her legs under herself.

Andy was content to just hold her. It was like a dream come true to hold her and have her say that she believed and trusted him. He felt a few tears slip down his cheeks. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders when Sharon told him that she believed there was nothing going on between him and Ann. Sharon made to put a bit of space between them, but Andy didn't let her and just hugged her to him tighter.

"Please, just let me hold you like this for a moment" he whispered.

Sharon didn't say anything, just settled back against him and enjoyed the warmth of his body. She let herself relax against him and shifted her legs a bit, so that they wouldn't fall asleep. She noticed herself falling drifting off, but it felt comfortable and right to be sleeping against Andy's chest like this, so she let sleep envelop her.

When she woke up she was glad to notice that all the tension that had been in Andy's face and shoulders for the past few weeks had left him. It felt comfortable and right to be this near him, and not awkward at all to be waking up in his arms.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

It was one of those weird moments that happen some times in the middle of the night when one wakes up, convinced that one has heard a sound. It's almost like a memory or an echo of a sound, yet it feels so real that falling asleep again is impossible.

Sharon was wide-awake, but no matter how hard she listened, nothing seemed out of the ordinary right now. She heard the wind outside of her window rustling the leaves of the trees and a car driving somewhere in the distance. She reached for her phone on the nightstand and activated the screen. It was 2.27AM. She'd been asleep for almost four hours. She had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong, that she had heard something.

She knew she'd not be able to fall asleep for a while because of the adrenaline she felt coursing through her veins, so she sat up in bed and shifted the curtains so that she could see outside. Everything seemed normal. Then she heard a sound from downstairs again. This time she was sure it was not her imagination or a dream. Had the dirtbag found them after all the precautions that they had taken of not contacting anyone at home and after assuming fake identities? How was it possible? Or was it just some kids messing around in the neighborhood? Or a burglar trying to get in? In any case, it needed to be checked.

She stood up and started reaching for her gun and realized that the damn splint was in the way. She thought of taking it off, but she had not used her hand in four days now, so it was hardly the optimal moment to take the splint off and rely on her wrist being able to hold up a gun if necessary. She didn't know how much it would hurt without the splint, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to flex her fingers at all. What if the wrist gave away because of the pain or what if she'd not be able to flex her fingers at all? She was leaving herself vulnerable by taking a risk like that. _Andy_ she thought. _I have to wake him up because I can't fire my own gun and I'm not going down to check on the noise without it. Damn._ She felt like a damsel in distress for being so helpless without the gun.

She crept towards Andy's room and opened the door silently. He was sleeping on his side, breathing deeply and evenly. She hated doing this, but she had to wake him up. She knew from experience that it was hard not to feel startled when waking to someone holding a hand on your mouth. She leaned down, ready. "Andy, it's me" she whispered into his ear and pressed her hand against his mouth. He woke immediately and had her hand in a vice-like grip in half a second. He relaxed his grip immediately when he saw Sharon holding her injured hand in front of her lips, asking him to be quiet. He was standing in front of her in a second, already reaching for his gun.

"I heard sounds from downstairs Andy, and I don't know if I'll be able to hold my gun up or fire it with my injured hand" she whispered very quietly. She hated feeling so helpless. He motioned for her to get behind him, knowing that she'd never stay upstairs even if he asked her to, and started creeping down the stairs. This time they both heard it. There was definitely a sound. They crept downstairs in silence and Andy motioned towards the kitchen when they heard a faint sound again. This time it was like a muffled scrape. Again Andy motioned for Sharon to stay behind him. She nodded and followed him silently. The sounds were coming from outside, so Andy was fairly certain that there was no one inside the house yet if they were trying to gain access.

He moved closer to the window and took position behind it, holding his gun ready. With his right hand he moved the curtain a tiny bit, checking to see if there was anyone there. It was dark with just a little bit light coming from the streetlights on the road, so he couldn't see, but the sound was coming from closer to the ground. He caught sight of something on the ground and suddenly all tension left his body. It was an animal of some sort, probably a raccoon, or a family of raccoons, trying to get access to their trash. He put his gun on the kitchen counter and motioned for Sharon to get closer. From his body language and the fact that he had put his gun away she had already deducted that whoever or whatever was making the sound, did not pose an immediate threat to them.

She moved next to Andy and peeked outside from behind the curtain when he moved it for her. She saw something dark moving on the ground and realized that it was an animal. "Raccoons" he said to her in a quiet voice. All tension left her body as well. "Oh thank God" she said, and sagged against Andy.

"I must have left the lid of the bin open by accident when I took out the trash earlier today. But so now the questions is how do we get rid of raccoons?" he said as he squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Scare them away and next time check that the bin is properly closed?"

"Ok, we can try that. Do we have the broom here inside or is it outside?"

"It's outside, but maybe it's enough if we turn the lights on and open the kitchen door and scare them away? If they come back we can try the broom?"

"Ok, don't turn the lights on yet, let me go get my shoes first. I want to close the bin properly when they go."

Sharon nodded and waited for Andy to go and get his shoes and put them on.

Andy opened the door at the same time that Sharon switched the lights on, and the raccoons scattered in all directions when Andy yelled boo at them. He stepped outside briefly and Sharon watched from the door as he closed the garbage can lid properly. Luckily the raccoons had not had enough time or brains to turn the bin over, so all the garbage was still in there and intact. It was the lid on the ground that had made the sounds that Sharon had woken to.

The air outside was pretty cold it being mid October, but Andy was so high on the adrenaline that he didn't really feel it through his old Dodgers shirt and pj pants. He closed the bin and secured the lid, turning around and seeing Sharon's silhouette against the light that was coming from inside.

In the dark and with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he had not realized that she was wearing so little. She had a purple spaghetti strap lace nightie on with a long white cardigan covering her shoulders that she had probably thrown on for modesty but that was now hanging loosely on her sides, not covering her front at all. The only thing covering her legs were satin shorts that were barely visible from under the hem of the nightie. Her legs were basically bare, and as he took a step closer he had to swallow when he noticed that the outlines Sharon's nipples were very visible through the purple lace, probably because of the cold October air that she was standing in.

She looked up at him, feeling relieved that there was no threat to them and that the raccoons had scattered at least for now. He looked weird, upset almost, and wouldn't meet her eyes. She took a step back when Andy moved towards the door and her. He busied himself with closing the door and removed his shoes again, looking down and avoiding looking at her.

"Andy, what's wrong?" she asked when he seemed so tense and wouldn't look at her. She was still coming down from her adrenaline high, her hands shaking quite a bit and didn't realize at all that her nipples were all but visible through the purple lace and that she was barely dressed at all.

She moved closer to him and raised her hand to touch his chest. "Sharon don't" he said. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Things had been so much better between them since the accident, and she didn't want him closing off to her again.

Andy didn't say anything, just looked at the ceiling and waved his hand in the general direction of her body. She realized at once her state of undress and turned beet red. She yanked the cardigan closed and turned around, mortified that he had seen her like this. It was the nightie that she had bought that day when she had gotten new underwear to wear under the red dress that she had worn to the bar. It was the only piece of sexy underwear that she had, and on a fluke she had decided to wear it to bed tonight. She wished a big hole would open up underneath her feet and swallow her whole so that she would be spared this embarrassment. "I'm sorry Andy." When he didn't say anything she continued. "Would you mind hitting the light switch so that you don't need…?" _to see me like this,_ was what she thought, but didn't want to continue for fear of sounding too pathetic. Andy reached for the light switch, but something in her tone had him hesitating. Before he had time to second-guess himself he stepped closer to her.

He brushed her hair to the side and pressed a kiss on her left collarbone. He could feel her body heat through the thin garments that she was wearing. "Need to what Sharon? I'll switch the lights off, but not for lack of wanting to see you." Then he took a step back towards the kitchen door and switched the lights off.

Sharon was completely motionless with her back towards Andy. She couldn't believe her ears. Did he mean to say that he found her body attractive and actually wanted to look at her? Her mind was spinning and she didn't know what to say, so she just waited. She felt him behind her again, and he brushed her hair aside again, this time lingering on her collarbone and letting his body press very gently against hers. Sharon let out a slow breath. A line of some sort had been crossed here. Something told Andy that this was the right thing to do. Hell, it just felt right after all these weeks of what had become torture for him.

"Sharon you have no idea what you do to me every day" he whispered. She still didn't say anything, but her stomach felt as though it was doing summersaults with Andy's hot breath caressing her earlobe. He threw caution to the wind.

"That kiss that we shared two weeks ago that you said was a result of the heat of the moment. I'd been dreaming of it for months. I want to kiss you every minute of every day." He continued close to her ear. Sharon felt hot and cold shivers run down her back. _He wants to kiss_ you, was the only thought in her head. _He wants you._

Andy felt Sharon turning around in his arms and let his hands loosely circle her waist, his face buried in her neck. She was soft and warm in his arms, just like she had been those weeks ago when he had kissed her. Her scent was everywhere. She turned her head and he met her lips with his. It was soft and hesitant, but it felt right.

He traced her lips with his tongue and took her lower lip between his lips gently, sucking on it and driving her crazy. She parted her lips and tongues met. He kissed her with all the emotions that he had been feeling for the past months and all the longing that he had felt in the past two weeks. He poured out into that kiss all of the hope that he had for them. He felt her trembling in his arms.

Sharon felt feverish and her head and wrist were throbbing but she didn't want Andy to ever stop. It was almost too much, the emotions that Andy was unleashing in her and the sensual onslaught on her senses. He had been dreaming of kissing her was what he had said. All this time she had been desperate to be wanted by one man, and here he was, kissing and touching her, saying that he found her attractive. She felt a few tears of pure joy sliding down her cheeks. She wanted to press her aching breasts against him and feel his hands all over her body, but she knew it was too much for them too soon. Her body hadn't even healed from the injuries yet, and the throbbing in her head and wrist were testaments to that.

"Sharon, don't cry." He said as he came up for air and tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks rather unsuccessfully when he realized that she was crying.

"I'm sorry Andy, you've just made me so happy that it's hard…" He pulled her head down to his chest. She'd just said that he made her happy. He wanted to tell her that he was so in love with her that he didn't know what to do with himself on most days but he knew that they needed to take this slowly.

"Let's get you up to bed Sharon. You need to rest, you are still healing. We have time to talk about everything tomorrow and every day after tomorrow." He nudged her towards the staircase, although the last thing he wanted to do was to let her sleep.

"Can you hold me while we sleep Andy?" she asked shyly when they came to the upstairs landing.

"Of course" he said and guided her into his bedroom. He took off her cardigan and slid his hands down her arms slowly. He wanted to touch her everywhere, but he knew that she wasn't ready, and her body was definitely not ready for that. So instead he made her lay down and scooted up next to her under the covers. He wrapped an arm around her middle and snuggled up close to her. It took him a very long time to calm himself enough to fall asleep, but he did so with a content smile on his face.

When Andy next woke, he was disappointed to see that Sharon was no longer in bed with him. He glanced at his phone, and realized that his alarm would be going off in a few minutes. It was a Monday, so they had another week of work ahead of them. He could not help but smile, thinking of the events of the night. Sharon had looked so beautiful in that purple nightie and kissing her had been a dream come true. She was an early riser, so he was not surprised to hear the shower running in the bathroom.

If taking a shower in the mornings after Sharon had been torture until now with the scent of her shower gel and shampoo still lingering in the air, he could not imagine what it would feel like now after having had a taste of her and feeling her body through the nightie. He smiled to himself as he took out the clothes that he'd be wearing on that day. He had a good feeling about this day.

"Hey"

"Well hey" Sharon smiled shyly, her body covered partially by the fridge door. She had taken extra care this morning again with her hair, but all of a sudden she felt shy and self-conscious in front of Andy. He was smiling at her, with a warm look in his brown eyes. She closed the fridge door and found that she couldn't look away from him. He took a step closer, and she felt something at the pit of her stomach tightening. Still, he would not stop looking at her. Then he was there, right in front of her, leaning closer and murmuring into her ear.

"I was kind looking forward to waking up next to you this morning."

"Well, you must know by now Andy that I'm an early riser."

He just hummed near her ear, and then she felt his lips on her skin right under her ear. It felt so incredibly intimate to be standing in the kitchen like this with him, with his hair still a bit damp from the shower and his lips on the skin of her neck. He kissed his way up her jaw and by the time he got to her lips, Sharon was ready to beg him to kiss her properly.

There was no hesitation at all this time, and they took their time to explore and enjoy each other. Once it started getting a bit more heated Andy broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Sharon. You have no idea what you do to me when you kiss me like that." What he really wanted to tell her was how much he wanted her, but it was too much too soon for the both of them. They would need to take this one step at a time.

"Yeah I know what you mean Andy, but we do need to get going soon if you don't want to be late for your first meeting."

He smiled at her. There was a good kind of a tension in the air between them, and he couldn't wait for the day to be over to have the evening alone with her.

The day went by quickly. Sharon was very busy at the office, but managed to go for her follow-up appointment at the hospital in the afternoon. The doctor was satisfied with her wrist and told her that she would not need to use the splint anymore, although removing it might cause some soreness for a few days. She got strict instructions not to over-exert herself mentally or physically and she promised to take it easy for a few more days. When she got back to the office she realized that she had forgotten to eat lunch but didn't have time for it anyways since Pete was prepping for a big case. Andy had agreed to come and pick Sharon up at 5PM since she didn't have her car at the moment.

Andy showed up right on time, although they had already exchanged some messages during the day about Sharon's doctor's appointment and how it had gone. He was relieved that she was healing well. Andy had never been up to the offices where Sharon worked, but he wanted to come and really pick her up this time so he showed up a few minutes early and introduced himself to the receptionist who told him to take a seat and wait since Sharon was still in a meeting.

Through a big glass window with partially closed blinds he saw Sharon sitting in one of the meeting rooms with Pete, going over some papers that they had spread out on the big table. Andy felt a twinge of jealousy when he noticed Pete leaning over Sharon's shoulder a bit too close in his opinion. She looked up at Pete and smiled, and Andy could feel his hands clenching into fists. She didn't want Sharon looking at anyone like that except for him.

A moment later he noticed Sharon glance at her watch, and saw her gently squeeze Pete's arm and give him another smile while saying something. They started collecting the papers off the table and Pete was also looking at his watch saying something. Andy took a step towards the meeting room door and when Sharon came out he waved and closed the distance between them. She looked surprised to see him all the way up in the office, but not unpleasantly so. Before he knew what he was doing he was pulling Sharon close to himself and giving her a soft kiss on the temple. God she smelled heavenly. What he really wanted to do was push her against the wall and kiss her like there was no tomorrow, but he knew she would not appreciate that in a professional environment.

Andy shook hands with Pete once again and exchanged pleasantries while Sharon collected her things. Andy felt quite possessive of Sharon all of a sudden while they were saying bye to Pete, so he threaded his fingers with hers and pulled her closer. Her scent was intoxicating, so he pulled her even closer in the elevator.

"Sharon" he whispered into her ear quietly in the empty elevator.

"Yes?"

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now."

Sharon didn't reply, just gave him that brilliant smile of hers and looked at him. She definitely had a bit of extra color on her cheeks. It was as though it was a challenge of some sort.

They exited the elevator and the building, and Andy would still not let go of her hand.

"So why don't you?" She whispered and looked at him again with a wicked smile when they got to the car.

"Really?" Andy asked, surprised by her comment. He had always thought of Sharon as a very private person, but maybe she meant it now that they were out of the office. She smiled in reply and her gaze lingered on his lips. That did it for Andy who had been practically daydreaming of holding her in his arms again in the night the entire day. He pressed her against the car door and snuck one hand behind her neck, keeping the other one on her waist. He kissed her softly to start with, but it soon changed into something more. Sharon found that being caught between the cold car and Andy's warm body felt quite arousing, and suddenly she didn't feel cold at all in the October air.

"Jeeez… can't you get a room or something? You are too old to be doing that out here" they heard someone grumbling as the person walked by. Sharon broke the kiss and hid her face between Andy's neck and coat collar. She felt a giggle escape. It was true she realized. They were making out like teenagers on the side of a road pressed against a car when they had a warm home to go to.

Their eyes met, and Andy saw the humor written all over Sharon's face. It was quite funny actually. He chuckled, kissing her one more time before getting in the car.

They held hands all the way back home.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for the reviews everyone! I'm glad so many people are enjoying reading this story.

SSSSSSSSS

Over the next week or so, evenings were the best time of the day for both Sharon and Andy. They were both looking forward to spending time together at night after coming home from work. Andy had started showing up at Sharon's work place every now and then to take her out to lunch. It was mostly because he missed Sharon during the day and just wanted to see her, and partially because he wanted to show Pete that Sharon and he were happily married. He hated the fact that Sharon was wearing her old wedding ring because of what it represented to her, but on the other hand he did want everyone to see that she was in a relationship.

Linda kept telling Sharon that she was very happy to see her friend glow like a newly wed every day. Sharon blushed every day when she heard that. Linda had no way of knowing that the budding relationship with Andy was brand new, although people around them naturally thought that they had been together for a very long time.

Linda herself had been steadily dating the guy that she had met in the bar that one night when they had gone out, so Sharon and her had a lot of girly stuff to giggle over every time they had lunch together when Andy did not make an appearance.

Since Halloween was approaching Linda announced to Sharon one day that she'd be holding a Halloween party at her place to celebrate the occasion and to have an excuse to invite some friends over to drink some punch and meet Ryan, her now boyfriend. Sharon was excited since it had been a long time since she had last been to a Halloween party. It was one of those things that she'd not had time to celebrate in LA, even if she had received invitations over the years. Ever since her kids had grown up and moved out she'd just not seen much point in celebrating.

Linda had declared that she'd be keeping it small, and had only invited around 20 people. About a week ahead of the party she made Sharon promise that she'd wear the red dress that she had worn to the bar. Since costumes were optional Sharon was happy to agree since she doubted she'd need a costume in the near future, so might as well save the money that would be spent on a costume that she'd only wear once, and wear the red dress. Sharon did go out and get Halloween decorations to mark the occasion since she had promised to help Linda decorate her apartment the night before the party. While out, she bought a set of earrings and a matching spider web necklace with a little spider pendant that should go nicely with the dress. It was a cliché, but it was Halloween after all.

The night before the party that would fall on a Saturday night, Sharon went over to Linda's place after work and they got her place ready. They hung glow in the dark skeletons on the walls and pumpkin decorations in the doorways. They set out candles and Halloween lights and carved out the pumpkins. Sharon helped Linda prepare what foods could be prepared in advance, and laid out the punch bowl and glasses. In order to get the preparations going more smoothly, Linda had suggested that they open a bottle of wine, and they were sipping it all though the evening while decorating. When everything was finally done, they sat on the couch and had a look at it all.

"It's going to be good Linda." Sharon smiled at her friend. Linda's place looked absolutely fabulous with all the decorations. It would look even better with the lights switched off and all the decorative lights on.

"I think you're right Shannon. It's going to be so nice. And I can't wait for Ryan to see it all. I have a good feeling about tomorrow night." Linda had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"I'm glad you are happy."

"Yes, and speaking of happy, seems like things are going well between you and Drew" Linda smiled at her friend. It had been obvious that something was going well between Sharon and Andy. Sharon showed up to work with a big smile on her face on all days. There was that extra bounce in her step again that Linda had witnessed before as well for a while. It seemed like Sharon was over the moon on most days.

Sharon hummed, wanting to discuss the relationship but knowing that she'd not be able to tell Linda the most important parts. "Yeah, things have been good between us" she smiled and blushed a bit.

"Ever since the accident, huh? You have been practically daydreaming of him all the time ever since then. Something happened on those days that you were not at work, huh? Did it give you a little bit time to reconnect when he had to play nurse for you?" Linda was laughing at Sharon's embarrassed expression and flushed cheeks. Linda had no way of knowing, but Sharon was thinking of that night on which Andy had seen her in the purple nightie and kissed her and pulled her close to him in his bed. They hadn't slept in the same bed since then because Sharon wanted to take things slowly, but there had been a lot of kissing ever since then. They had been making out like teenagers in the kitchen, on the couch, in the car etc. ever since that night.

On most nights it took Sharon a long time to fall asleep because she was so overheated by the kisses that they shared with Andy. She had been the one to insist that they take things slowly, although Andy had not pushed her at all, but on some nights she had come very close to sneaking to his room and his bed. But when she thought of it rationally, she knew that they needed to take this slowly if they wanted it to last. And she very much wanted it to last.

"I guess you could say that he took very good care of me while I had the concussion, and has been taking care of me since then." Sharon said cryptically, smiling at the ceiling. The wine had made her feel relaxed and the hard day's work and company made her feel like all was right in the world.

"Well? Do tell." Linda was laughing.

"Well, things have been good between us ever since then. Better than ever before I guess I could say. He seems me in a new light I think." Sharon was smiling, thinking of the way Andy looked at her nowadays. It was true that he saw her differently now.

"I bet he will see you yet again differently tomorrow night when you wear that red number of yours" Linda smiled, happy to see Sharon so happy for a change.

"Yes indeed. And I bought a new necklace that has this spider pendant that I think he will appreciate." Sharon couldn't help but let out a little giggle. The spider would most definitely draw Andy's attention to the right place tomorrow night. She was pretty sure that there would be some quite hot making out again after they got home from the party.

SSSSSSSSSS

It was a beautiful day on the day of the party, and Andy suggested to Sharon that they go for a leisurely walk in the park for a bit before getting ready for the evening. Sharon kept saying that she was completely healed, but Andy wanted to be careful so they decided to go on a short walk only. They held hands and walked slowly, enjoying the sunshine and crisp air. Andy thought Sharon was absolutely stunning in her black coat and blue scarf. He felt like the luckiest man alive when he was allowed to hold her hand and show the world that she was his. Well, as much as Sharon could ever be anyone's.

"What are you thinking Sharon?" he asked after she had fallen silent for quite a while. They hadn't been talking much really, just enjoying being outdoors.

"Nothing much Andy. I'm just enjoying the scenery, the company and the fresh air." She smiled that dazzling smile of hers at him and he pulled her closer. He was sure he'd never get tired of holding her close like this.

"Yeah, it sure is different to home" he smiled at her. There was that word again that he had been thinking a lot about lately, _home_. He had been wondering what it would be like to go back to LA after this experience. In many ways, they were very free here in Washington State. Free to pursue these newly found feelings for each other and free from anyone they knew making comments about them or judging them. They could just be together without any complications, and a part of Andy was worried that that would change once that phone call inevitably came that would have them pack up and go back to LA.

"What are you thinking about Andy?"

"Well, I was thinking about the freedom that we have here to be together." He hesitated before he continued. "And how much I want this, whatever this is between us, to work. I don't want to screw this up Sharon." He smiled at her. She was right by his side and all he wanted to do was to kiss her. He was hesitant to bring up their relationship, or whatever it could be called at this point.

"You're not going to screw this up Andy." She whispered. "I'm not going to let you even if you try. But we do need to take this one step at a time though."

"Agreed" Andy said and kissed her briefly on the lips before they made their way back home.

SSSSSSSSS

"Sharon you ready?" She heard Andy's voice from the other side of her door. She was nervous about tonight. She was so nervous in fact, that she had barely been able to handle the delicate earrings that she had bought, and she had still not managed to get the clasp of the new spider web necklace to cooperate with her fingers.

She knew she looked good in the red dress. She had been extra careful doing her hair after the shower and she had worn a red lace bra and matching panties tonight, simply because she wanted to know that she looked good under the dress as well as in the dress. She felt like she was going on a first date. And here was Andy, wanting to know if she was ready.

"Uh, yeah come in Andy." It felt almost too intimate to have him in her room while she was not 100% ready, but she needed to ask Andy to help her with the necklace clasp. He had not been in her room since she the concussion. It was as if though by mutual agreement they had decided to stick to their own rooms after that one night of sleeping in the same bed. Sharon wanted to take it slow, and she was worried that she'd lose her willpower if she let Andy into her room on a daily basis. While she loved spending time with him, she felt that she still needed to retain her own space.

"Hey are you ok? I think we need to…" He didn't finish the sentence. He simply just stared at Sharon from the doorway. It was the red dress again that he had seen on her that night that she had gone to the bar with Linda, and suddenly Andy felt his blood pressure shooting through the roof. It was too much. There was more cleavage showing than normally, and the dress was hugging her in all the right places, just like before. It was tighter than anything she normally wore for sure. He swallowed audibly. He actually wanted Sharon to know the effect that the dress had on him. Last time he had seen Sharon in this dress he had not been allowed to touch her but now they were comfortable kissing each other even if they had not advanced from the kissing stage yet.

He stepped closer to her and cupped her cheek. "Sharon, you are so beautiful" he said simply. His heart was pounding in his chest. She was so incredibly sexy in the dress, but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by saying it aloud. She had just today told him in the park that they needed to take it slow, and he agreed. He did not want to screw this up like he had most other relationships that he had had in his life.

She smiled that beautiful smile at him and leaned in for a kiss. Andy wasn't sure if it was his imagination or his racing heart that had him think that Sharon pressed herself a bit closer to him than she ever had before. Her breasts were soft against his chest and he felt her body heat against his waist. He wanted to pull her against him fully. They kissed for a good while, tongues clashing and stroking each other. By the time Sharon pulled away from him slightly, he was ready to forget about the party altogether and just stay at home with her.

"Andy I need a bit of help with the clasp of this necklace. Could you?"

She turned around and lifted her hair up so that he had space to fasten the necklace. He fumbled with it for a while and then managed to get it closed. He admired her reflection in the mirror that she was facing and then circled her waist with his arms from behind. His right arm was lightly touching the underside of her breasts. His gaze was drawn to the spider pendant that rested lightly just above the cleavage that was showing. He swallowed, and kissed Sharon's neck.

"Can we just skip the party and stay home?" He whispered into her ear. He didn't want to take her to the party, not while there would be other men there that would be admiring her body and talking to her. The wedding ring that she was wearing made him feel irritated once again.

She hummed in response, knowing that Linda would be very disappointed if they didn't show. And besides, she had helped decorate for the party so it was only right that they go. "I don't think Linda would be too happy if we didn't show Andy" she said. He buried his face in her neck, just breathing in her scent. He wanted to hold her like this all evening.

The drive over to Linda's apartment was quiet. Sharon was expecting some people from work to be there, like Pete, but she was also expecting to be meeting some new people tonight. She was pretty tired of the lying and trying to hide who she really was. She decided that she'd try to steer the conversation away from herself as much as she could. She'd also try to stick as much to Andy's side as she could.

Linda's apartment looked great as Linda and Sharon had predicted the night before. With the decorative lights on and the candles lit, there was definitely a feeling of Halloween in the air. The food was excellent, and the punch had a bit of a bite to it, but was still very good. Sharon was determined to have only a glass or two, given that Andy was sipping soda. She knew that he didn't really mind that she drank alcohol in his presence, but she had never been a big drinker anyway. She wasn't sure if she was feeling hot because of the one glass of punch she had enjoyed or because of the fact that Andy's hands seemed to never leave her body during the entire evening.

Pete was at the party, as were a few other people from the office and Sharon was enjoying herself immensely. At some point when Pete came over to chat with her she could have sworn that Andy made a point to pull her even closer to him and never left her side while Pete was there. Andy's hand was positively burning a hole through her dress, and she wasn't finding it unpleasant at all. _Get a grip Sharon,_ she thought to herself. She had just talked with Andy today about taking things slowly. It was such a weird situation to be in anyway. They were living together pretending to be married, and what had been a solid friendship between them back in LA had now transformed into something more. Sharon could not deny that she enjoyed kissing Andy on a daily basis, and she had thought on more than one occasion that it would be nice to feel Andy's hands on other parts of her body than her waist.

It was starting to get late, and people were definitely enjoying the punch and atmosphere. The soft music that was playing was pleasant and Sharon found herself slowly swaying to the rhythm of it. She felt like dancing, although they were definitely not going to go out tonight to any place with a dance floor. She was sitting on the couch beside Andy and was completely oblivious to the fact that her dress was hiking upwards with every little swaying movement that she made. Pete was sitting on the armrest on her other side and she was enjoying the atmosphere of the party. When Pete excused himself to go and get some water Andy turned to Sharon and slipped his hand around her waist. He glanced at her legs and the skin that was now showing, which had been quite a bit already before she had started moving to the rhythm of the music. Their eyes met, and Andy didn't even try to disguise the heat in his gaze. Sharon blushed furiously and looked down at her water glass, trying to hide her face behind her hair but Andy wanted her to know what she was doing to her.

"Sharon." She felt the whisper like a caress on her neck. "I promise I'll not push you into something that you are not ready for, but please just be aware of what you are doing to me in that dress of yours."

She was at a loss for words. She felt Andy's warm lips on her neck. She forgot to breathe for a second. The silver spider just above her breasts seemed to have taken on a life of it's own, because it was moving more rapidly now than it had been before. The spider that she had specifically thought Andy would appreciate, given where exactly it was. It turned out she had gotten more than she had actually gambled for. She was relieved when Linda came to ask for her help with putting the finalizing touches on the dessert because there didn't seem to be enough air around her to breathe.

"Well Shannon. Seems like you are enjoying yourself" Linda said with a knowing smile.

"Yes, it's a wonderful party Linda. Thank you for making it happen." Sharon smiled at her friend while taking out the vanilla ice cream from the fridge.

"And it seems as though Drew is having a hard time keeping his hands or eyes off of your body, so seems that as you said yesterday, he is seeing you in a new light."

"Yes, that he is" Sharon sounded a bit too breathless in her own ears, but since Linda had helped herself to way more punch than Sharon, she doubted Linda could hear it.

"You know, you could put him out of his misery for a bit and take him out on the balcony to see the view for a bit. Might help if he got a proper kiss or two" Linda continued suggestively." Or then on the other hand, I'm not sure anything will help him before he gets to take you home and undress you" she whispered, giggling in the process. Sharon couldn't help but let out a small giggle as well.

"What is so funny here?" The ladies heard Andy's voice behind them.

They turned around, Sharon mortified that Andy may have heard Linda's last comment. Their relationship wasn't like that, not at all.

"Oh there you are Drew!" Linda said a bit too brightly. "I was just telling Shannon here how the view from my balcony should definitely not be missed. Why don't you two run along now and go have a look while I finish up here?" She gave Sharon a conspiratory smile and pushed her closer to Andy with her hip.

"But I thought you said you needed help with the dessert?" Sharon looked at Linda. She had clearly just wanted to tell Sharon that she had noticed that Andy had not let go of her all night. Andy looked confused. Linda didn't say anything, just smiled at Sharon until she grabbed Andy's hand and pulled him towards the balcony.

It was cold out, but they were not going to be out in the October air for more than a minute or two, so Sharon ignored the blast of cold air on her skin when she opened the balcony door. The view was very nice. It didn't compare with the view from Sharon's balcony back in LA, but it was still very nice for a smaller town. There were pumpkin lanterns visible in front of the houses nearby, and some people had gone all out in decorating their houses with Halloween lights. Sharon patted Andy's arm and felt him slip it around her waist, pulling her close. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"It's cold out here isn't it?" He murmured. "But the view sure is nice for a small town like this."

She hummed. "Yes, it's nice." Andy wasn't sure if she was talking about the view or the way she was pressed against his side. He kissed the top of her head. She looked up at him, and his eyes slipped down to look at that damn spider pendant just above her breasts. He knew it was rude to stare, but even in the dim light he could see the outlines of her nipples through the dress. He swallowed, aware that Sharon was looking at his face. He let the desire show since she had already noticed the way he was ogling her breasts through the fabric of the dress. She was sexy as hell in the dress, and seeing that extra bit of her legs just a moment ago had not helped cool Andy down at all.

Sharon inhaled sharply when their eyes met. There was heat in Andy's gaze. The same heat he had let her see inside on the couch a few minutes ago. She felt her nipples tighten because of the cold air. It was almost painful, but a good kind of a pain. She was aware of how aroused she felt. It was a combination of the cold air, the glass of punch that she had had earlier, the easy atmosphere of the party and Andy's smoldering gaze. She realized that she wanted Andy to kiss her more than she had ever wanted it before.

She reached her hand behind his neck and pulled him down towards her lips. He came eagerly, and she licked her lips just a bit right before their lips made contact. His gaze became darker if possible, and he crushed his lips against hers. There was nothing sweet or friendly about this kiss, it was all need and want. He wanted to devour her, and Sharon was almost too eager to comply. She pressed her aching nipples against his chest, and moved her hips closer to him. His hands were on her waist again, but she wanted them lower this time. She realized that she wanted to feel him getting hard for her. Where on earth were these thoughts coming from? Just today she had told Andy that she wanted to take things slow.

They kissed until Sharon started shivering from the cold. It was arousing to feel hot and cold at the same time, but it was already the end of October so it was really too cold to be outside. Once again Andy would not let go of her when they were inside, and Linda noticed not only that, but also Sharon's swollen lips and slightly mussed hair. There was definitely something sizzling between the two of these tonight.

Once dessert was eaten people started slowly saying their goodbyes to Linda and ordering cabs for themselves. Sharon helped tidy up the kitchen up and was then gently ushered towards the door by Linda, who assured her that everything was fine and that she could handle it by herself, or with Ryan's help in the morning. Andy helped Sharon into her coat like a gentleman and again held her hand until they got to their car. The constant physical contact didn't feel forced at all.


	10. Chapter 10

Once home, Andy turned around and locked the door for the night and pushed Sharon against the wall gently after she had pulled off her heels. He could taste the vanilla ice cream on her lips. It had practically been torture watching her in that tight red dress all night, and those heated kisses out in the cold hadn't helped at all. It was a surprise how willingly Sharon kissed him back because this was usually when they pulled apart and said good night before things got too heated.

Tonight, however, Sharon wasn't having any of that. She was pressing her breasts against Andy and her hands were running up and down his back, so Andy kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Soon she was letting out small moans that were driving Andy wild. He was being a gentleman and kept his hands on her waist, but his hands were burning to touch her sides, her ass, her breasts and everywhere else. _Do not scare her away. Keep it together old man,_ he kept telling himself. Sharon had just today told him that she wanted to take things slow, so he was going to let her set the pace, but it was damn difficult to keep his hands in appropriate places. He could feel himself hardening, and it would be impossible to hide that from Sharon pretty soon. He broke off the kiss.

"Uh, Sharon. We need to calm down a bit here." It was not what he wanted to do at all, but he would respect her wish to take it slowly and it was getting harder to stop by the second.

"Oh" She seemed to be having trouble catching her breath. The damn spider pendant caught Andy's eye again, and he could not help but stare at the cleavage that was showing. She noticed and blushed. He didn't know where he got the courage, but he reached to unclasp the necklace from behind her neck, and wondered what it would be like to run his finger down her collarbone all the way to where the pendant had been, and further down. Instead, he opened her hand and lowered the necklace gently into it. She dropped it slowly on the side table by the door, and seemed to be thinking of something.

"What Sharon?" He looked at her lips that were swollen from their heated kisses and cupped her cheek, stroking her lower lip with his thumb. He wanted to kiss her again but they really had to stop now if they were not going to take it further tonight.

"Nothing Andy, I just…"

"What?" He whispered, and felt the tip of her tongue come out and lick his thumb just a tiny bit. She seemed to be gathering her thoughts.

"I think I don't want to wait… that is, for us. I think that this feels right and that I'd like you to continue kissing me" she let out in a rush.

"Are you saying…" but the rest of Andy's sentence was swallowed by the heated kiss that Sharon gave him. She wanted to feel Andy's hands everywhere, but he was still too shocked to even move them, so she helped him by sliding his right hand onto her ass. She moved closer to him and felt the heat of his erection through the fabric of his pants and her dress. It was early in their relationship, but it felt right and it was what she wanted. Her nipples were aching to be touched, so she pressed them against Andy's chest again, and felt him hesitantly touch the side of her breast. It wasn't nearly enough, and it wasn't where she truly wanted him to touch her, so she pushed his hand closer to her nipple and became aware that there were too many layers of clothing separating them.

"I think we should take this upstairs Andy" she whispered into his ear and heard him swallow.

"Lead the way" he managed to get out. He had a hard time believing that this was actually happening. He had been prepared to take this slowly, very slowly so that Sharon would not balk.

She walked up the stairs with him following. She hesitated a bit at the doorway of his room. Were they actually going to do this? She had thought that she wanted to wait. She turned around and saw the want in Andy's eyes, and knew that this was the right thing to do. They were not getting any younger and she knew she had feelings for him that ran very deep. They were both consenting adults, so really why not?

She stepped closer to Andy again, and it seemed as though he had really realized what was happening here, because all of a sudden his hands were everywhere. He was sucking on her neck, and his hands were slipping under the hem of her dress, pushing it up slowly. Sharon could most definitely feel his erection against her pelvis, and it seemed as though there wasn't enough oxygen in the air. She pulled his shirt loose from his pants and slipped her hands inside of his shirt. The warm skin against skin encouraged Andy, and he pulled Sharon's dress over her head and let it slip onto the floor. It was made of stretchy material that had no zipper, which was probably why it had been clinging to her body in all the right places. For a moment he just looked at her with all the desire evident in his eyes. He let Sharon see it too. He removed her glasses and put them on his nightstand. Then he pushed Sharon backwards gently, until she was leaning against her elbows down on the bed in nothing but her red lace underwear. Gods she was beautiful and he didn't know what he had done to deserve her.

Sharon was becoming quite self-conscious under Andy's gaze. It had been a long time since she had last done this, and she knew that her body was not what it had been 20 years ago and Andy normally went for younger women. Much younger. She hadn't had a man look at her in this little clothing in several years. She wanted to pull a pillow or the covers on top of herself when Andy lowered himself on the bed with her. His hands were tracing warm paths up her body until he got to her bra. He took a moment to open the two clasps that were holding it together in the back and felt clumsy and nervous. This was Sharon, not just any woman that he had brought home. Then her hands were there, helping him get rid of the red lace bra, and her lips were on his. Her nails were scraping his scalp gently, and he took one of her swollen nipples in his mouth. She moaned, and Andy could feel himself hardening even further. He flicked his tongue over her nipple over and over again until he could hear her panting underneath him.

"Andy…" she whispered full of desire. He looked at her swollen lips and thought to himself that Sharon panting underneath him with one nipple glistening in the weak light from outside was probably the most erotic thing he had ever seen. He knew at that moment that no matter what happened, he was so irrevocably in love with her that there could be no other woman for him ever again. He continued kissing her and ghosted his palm along her stomach until it came to her panties. He slipped his hand inside, and was not surprised to feel her folds already wet for him. He gently pushed a finger inside her, and made small circling motions with his thumb while moving his finger in and out. Sharon was whimpering under him, and he was too mesmerized to even continue kissing her. He was doing this to her. He.

"Andy, please. I'm going to…" it felt too intimate to tell him that she was mere seconds from coming, but she really wanted to come with him inside of her when they did this for the first time. "Please, I want it together…" she whispered into his ear. That was all that Andy needed to hear. He had wanted to make her come once before penetrating her, but right at that moment he would have given her the moon from the sky if it had been in his power. He slipped out of his boxers and guided himself to her entrance. She was wet, warm and tight and it was heaven. It didn't take Sharon many strokes to fall over the edge, and Andy soon followed her. It felt right in every possible way. They lay on the bed together, both utterly spent. He draped his arm around her and pulled her close.

 _I love you_ , he wanted to whisper to her, but knew at the same time that it was still too soon. She would balk at such an admission. Despite what had happened today, they would have to take it slowly if they wanted to build something lasting.

They lay there for a long while not talking, just listening to each other breathe.

"Andy, I think I'm going to take a really quick shower before sleeping."

"Hmmmhh." He murmured, already half asleep. She kissed him on the lips. She didn't want to leave the bed, but she did want to take a quick shower and wash off the makeup. She felt self-conscious collecting her clothes from the floor and leaving the room naked. He had already seen everything that there was to see, but it had been a long time since Sharon had shared moments like this with anyone.

"Sharon?" She heard from behind her as she was at the doorway.

"Yes Andy?"

"You'll sleep with me tonight, right?"

"Yes, let me just get cleaned up first Andy." She smiled. He sounded so hesitant and shy, it was adorable.

"Mind if I join you in the shower?"

"Not at all Andy, not at all."

The next morning Andy woke to a something tickling his nose. Sharon was pressed close against him, snuggled up to his chest, and her hair was in his face. He smoothed the hair away from his nose and just enjoyed the warmth of Sharon's body, and the smell of her hair. It was pure bliss to be waking up to Sharon in his arms for the second time in short period of time. It was something that he could get used to, and something that he recognized that he'd want to get used to, too. He felt Sharon stirring.

"Hey" he whispered into her ear.

"Hey" she whispered back when she opened her eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" Andy didn't know what else to ask.

She only hummed in response and gave him that wonderful smile of hers again. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her closer. She came willingly, and let out another little hum. They gently drifted off to sleep again.

The next time they woke up it was to Andy's cell phone's insistent buzzing on the nightstand.

"Hello?" He groaned into the phone when he had managed to untangle himself from Sharon.

"What the hell Flynn? We have been calling you and the captain for the past hour and I have Rusty here, freaking out because he can't reach the captain" Provenza was his usual cheerful self.

"Provenza?" That got Sharon's attention and she sat up in bed fully awake. So much for a lazy Saturday morning.

"Where the hell is the captain, Flynn?" Andy heard his partner's grumpy voice again. He felt heat climbing along his neck. Despite his yet only half-awake brain, he didn't think Sharon would appreciate him telling Provenza that she was right there in his bed, where she had been for the past hours ever since having mind-blowing sex with her last night.

"Sharon's probably still sleeping, or uh-"

"Will you go find her for me?" Louie was not a happy camper this morning. Andy had gotten his wits about him again and realized that Provenza calling him on a Saturday morning could only mean one thing. They had caught the dirtbag and that they were free to go home.

"Yeah, uh I will. But Louie, just tell me. Did you catch the dirtbag?"

"Yes Andy, we caught him a few hours ago right here in LA, and we wanted to let the captain know first-"

"I'll have her call you as soon as I find her. I'm sure she is eager to talk to Rusty" and with that he cut the call and turned towards Sharon who was now standing by the bed, looking at him hopeful eyes.

"They caught him Sharon." Andy smiled at her. She didn't say anything, just smiled at him and hugged him close. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. They could go home again. They could go back to their regular lives. They hugged each other tightly for a long moment, and then Sharon went to look for her phone that was still probably downstairs in her purse. Once she located it, she saw that there were indeed very many missed calls from Rusty's number. Poor kid, he would be freaking out just about now. She called him right away, and was moved to tears when she heard his voice after all these weeks. She hadn't even realized how much she had missed him. They would be receiving the official word from the bureau today, but Rusty had not wanted to wait in the morning once the news had come in that the manhunt was over and that Sharon and Andy could come home. Provenza had used his connections and gotten her number and Andy's number from the FBI.

Realistically speaking it was not feasible for Sharon and Andy to think that they'd be able to return to LA that day or even the next day. They wanted to take a few days to pack up their things and send home what they'd not be able to take on the plane. There were also goodbyes to be said, and loose ends to tie up at work. They decided that they'd try to make every effort to leave on the following Tuesday, and so time went by in a blur.

Monday was the hardest day, because that was when they had decided to tell their colleagues at work who they actually were. The news seemed to come as a shock to everyone except Pete. He revealed in a private conversation with Sharon that he had had a feeling that she might have a long past in law enforcement because of the way she had been looking at the cases that his office had handled.

Phone numbers, this time the real ones, were exchanged and a lot of promises were made to stay in touch. Linda was shocked to hear that Sharon and Andy were not actually married. Sharon didn't want to tell Linda that they had become something else than mere friends in the past few weeks, so she explained that they were just good friends. She didn't notice Pete's eyes lighting up while overhearing that part of the conversation.

Finally it was Tuesday, and Sharon and Andy had packed all the things that they were going to take back to LA with them. Sharon walked through the house one more time to check that they hadn't forgotten anything. Although she had hoped and wanted to go back to LA from the moment that they had gotten there, it was still a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to the house and the now familiar neighborhood. She stood in the living room with her coat on her arm and stared at the trees that now had almost no leaves left. Fall looked very different in LA.

She heard footsteps approaching and felt Andy's gentle hand on her shoulder giving her a little squeeze.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Yes Andy. I'm fine, I just never imagined that leaving this place would be so bittersweet."

"Hmmmh. I guess we both found something here that we were not expecting to find."

"Yes, it was a nice little town and the work was oddly satisfying and the people that we came to know here are truly wonderful. It's a little bit sad saying goodbye to some of them."

"You're right Sharon" Andy said quietly, although work and friends were not at all what he had meant with his comment. He had been a little bit nervous about returning to LA because this thing between them, whatever it could be called, was still so new. They hadn't been together since that first night after the Halloween party. Sharon had been up very late at night every night talking to her kids and taking care of the packing, so it had left very little time for being together. There had been heated kisses, but things had not progressed further. Andy was happy that Sharon had slept in the same bed with him since the party. That was something at least, and he was getting used to having someone warm and soft snuggled up to him every night.

He pulled Sharon against him and kissed her temple.

"Andy, about going back to LA. I was thinking that I don't want to tell Rusty right away what happened here. I mean…us. I need to give him some time to adjust to be being back." Sharon was visibly nervous. She didn't want Andy to think that she was regretting anything that had happened between them, but she didn't want to spring this on Rusty or the team either. There was no telling how that would change the dynamics and they still needed to figure this out between the two of them before letting others know that they were involved.

"Sure" Andy said, although he felt a painful clench at the bottom of his stomach. He wanted to announce it to the world that Sharon was his, but he did understand her need for space. Since receiving word that the dirtbag who had threatened their lives was behind bars, Sharon had stopped using that old ring that had irritated Andy so much. He felt even worse about her not wearing it than he had been feeling about her wearing it, because in the eyes of the world Sharon was now free game again.

"We'll need to take it slow Andy."

"Yeah sure, I understand." Needing a bit more reassurance, he pulled her in for a passionate kiss. _You are mine Sharon,_ he thought. There was no letting go of that no matter how slow they were going to go about this back in LA.

When they came up for air a moment later Sharon glanced at her watch.

"As pleasant as this is, I think we should probably get going if we don't want to miss our flight home."

"Yeah, you're probably right" Andy murmured into her ear, stealing one more short kiss before they made their way out and back to their regular lives in LA.

sssssssssssssssss

Ok guys, thanks for sticking with me all the way to the end. I left the ending a bit open because I've realized over the past few weeks while writing this that their problems aren't over yet. I'm 99% sure that there will be a sequel to this story that I just need to find the time to write. There will be misunderstandings and a fair amount of angst in that story as well. A HUGE thank you goes out once again to everyone who left feedback! I am overwhelmed by the positive reactions that this story has received.


	11. Chapter 11

It had been nice getting settled back in LA. Sharon for one enjoyed having the full selection of her wardrobe to choose from once again. The warmer weather was an added bonus as well. As much as she had enjoyed wearing sexy boots up in Tacoma, it was nice not to have to bundle up in the same way in LA. Seeing Rusty again had been wonderful. She had not realized how much she had missed him in the weeks that Andy and she had been away until they got back. They celebrated on Sharon's first night back in LA by going out to burgers, although Sharon had a sneaking suspicion that Provenza had let Rusty eat burgers a lot more often than she normally did. She was just so happy to see the boy again that she let it slide this once. Ricky came down for the weekend that followed their return from Tacoma, and Emily had plans to come to LA for Thanksgiving if her schedule in New York would permit.

The first day back in the office was strange. They caught a case around midday, and it almost felt like she and Andy had never left. The work just sucked one right back in. Before they knew it, they were busy again solving a murder and chasing suspects. Sharon had been worried that it would be strange being in the office with Andy after the changes that had taken place in their relationship, but the case that they caught kept them so busy that there was absolutely no time to worry about their personal lives in the first few days. She had asked Andy for some space and time and he seemed to have gladly given her both. On Friday night when they finally closed the case, Sharon realized that she hadn't even unpacked her bags since coming back to LA. Then Ricky arrived and she was busy the entire weekend spending time with Rusty and him.

Andy's fingers itched to call Sharon every night, but he decided to give her the space that she had asked for when they had been returning to LA. He understood her need to spend time with her family, but it didn't make him miss her any less. In the weeks that they had spent in Tacoma, he had gotten used to having her around in the mornings and evenings, and he found that he missed their daily talks. He just missed having her there all to himself every day, and more recently, waking up to her and being able to kiss her whenever he wanted to. In order to keep himself busy, Andy went to his meetings and reconnected with his sponsor, who was happy to hear that Andy was fine and had been out of touch for several weeks because he had been in the witness protection program.

The week after was no less busy for the team and for Sharon and Andy. They caught another case on Monday, and this one was tough on everyone because the victim was a 10-year-old child. After an intense and very long few days, they caught the dirtbag who had committed the murder, but he had decided to end his own life rather than give himself up to the police and that was always hard on the team. That afternoon Sharon sent the team home early since they had closed the case, and stayed to finish up the paperwork by herself. She had given the team instructions not to show up before noon the next day since they had had a few very long days and could all use the rest. Andy had gone home too, but after a few hours when Sharon was packing her stuff and getting ready to go home, she saw her phone flashing with Andy's caller ID.

"Hi Andy" she said in quite a tired voice. She was happy to talk to him, but it had been an emotionally taxing day.

"Hey. Are you ok?" he hadn't meant to ask that, but she sounded so sad that he could not help but feel a bit worried. He felt a pang of uncertainty as well. They had not really talked about anything non-work related since they had come back to LA.

"Yeah. I'm ok. Just finished here at the office and I'm about to head home for the day."

"I see."

"How are you doing Andy?"

"I went to a meeting. I think I needed one after the emotional turmoil of the past few days and I'm feeling tired but ok."

Sharon smiled at that. She hadn't really had time to miss him since coming back with the cases and Ricky and Rusty being at her place but now that she heard his voice she realized that she actually missed not having him around every day.

"Listen Sharon, I know you're probably really tired but I was wondering if you wanted to come over. I'm about to cook my mom's famous Bolognese sauce and there's going to be plenty. It'll be a vegetarian version but, uh… anyway you're welcome to come over for an early dinner if you want…" he trailed off, feeling awkward all of a sudden. It had been a long few days and he had hoped that she'd want to spend time with him today, but now the invitation sounded stupid in his ears. She was probably as exhausted as all of them were and just wanted to get home.

"Well, Rusty is at a friend's house tonight, studying until late and there is absolutely no food waiting for me in the fridge at home, so I would be happy to Andy" she smiled into the phone. She really missed him all of a sudden, and an evening alone with him sounded perfect. She did want to get out of the heels and jacket just to feel more comfortable, but she could always run home and change before going over to Andy's.

"Oh, ok. Well that sounds good then."

Sharon could hear Andy's smile in his voice as she walked from the elevator towards her car.

"I'm just going to go home real quick to change into something a bit more comfortable and I'll come over after that" she smiled, imagining the grin on his face. She was already looking forward to spending some quality time with Andy.

"Ok great Sharon. Well, I'll start cooking and hopefully the food will be ready by the time you get here."

"Ok Andy. See you soon." She smiled and got in the car.

SsS

"Hey" Sharon smiled as Andy opened the door for her wearing an apron.

"Hey you" his eyes lit up as his eyes raked her from head to toe. She had changed into a comfortable looking blue top and pants that hugged her figure. She looked gorgeous as usual and all he wanted to do was to press her against the wall and kiss her senseless. He wanted to do a lot more than that actually, but they had agreed to take it slowly.

"Food is almost ready. Make yourself comfortable." He said without touching her at all.

"Thank you Andy" she smiled at his domestic appearance and followed him into the kitchen where he proceeded to pour a cranberry soda for her. It had become a habit in Washington for her to have a soda with him every now and then in the evening. Without asking him, she started setting the table and preparing the side salad that they'd eat with the Bolognese sauce and pasta. It was another habit of theirs that they had gotten into in Washington. Andy usually cooked the warm dish and Sharon prepared the salad. It felt oddly domestic to share these mundane little rituals and to know the other person so well. Andy felt hyper aware of Sharon's presence and pretty much just wanted to pull her against him.

"Here, you wanna try?" He offered a spoonful of the sauce to Sharon to taste when the salad was done and she was just watching him finish up with the sauce.

She hummed in response and her face lit up, as she tasted the sauce. The sight of her tongue licking her lips for the last little droplets of the sauce was Andy's undoing and he discarded the spoon in the sink and pulled her close to him.

"I take it you approve?" he looked at her with those brown eyes as he felt her warm body against his. Her hair had the familiar scent of her shampoo and he tucked an errant strand behind her ear. She was intoxicating and he had missed her so much since they had come back from Washington. It was hard being near her at work, yet not being able to touch her or show his feelings. When Sharon didn't resist at all, but almost melted against his front he found her lips greedily and gave her a long soft kiss. Not wanting to scare her away before the evening had even started he left it at the one kiss and turned around to drain the spaghetti, although what he really wanted was to switch off the stove and take his time kissing her thoroughly.

Sharon wanted to whimper at the sudden loss of his body heat. She had not realized how much she had craved the physical closeness that they had gotten used to during the last week of being in the witness protection program until Andy kissed her. Being near him was both relaxing and exciting at the same time.

They ate dinner in a comfortable silence, both just enjoying the flavors of the sauce. After they finished, Andy covered her hand with his and traced circles on her open palm with his index finger.

"Thank you for dinner Andy. That was lovely." Sharon gave him that wonderful smile of hers that had Andy's toes curling.

"My pleasure."

"It's been a bit busy since we came back, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. With Ricky's visit and all, I don't know how you have managed to catch any sleep at all since we came back."

Sharon just hummed in response and started tidying up the table to take the dishes back into the kitchen. Andy got up and stepped closer to her. He lifted her chin up with a finger and gave her another soft kiss. Her hands stilled and came to rest against his chest. At the same time, his hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her a bit closer. They kissed for a good while, until Sharon gave Andy's chest a gentle push.

"We should load the dishwasher before the dishes dry."

"You're such a romantic" Andy replied playfully, tapping her nose gently with his index finger.

When the dishwasher was loaded and Andy was satisfied with the cleanliness of the counters he turned around and saw Sharon watching her from by the fridge. She was looking at him almost shyly. At that moment Andy felt such a strong wave of longing for her that he couldn't help but take a deep breath. It had been a long time since he had had a woman in his LA kitchen like this, just spending a nice quiet evening with him with no pressure. At work Sharon was always very much in control, but when she let all of that drop in her private life she was such a fascinating mixture of sensuality, humor and vulnerability.

"Can I offer you some tea?" He asked and smiled at her. He had to remind himself that she had no idea what she was doing to his insides.

She hummed in response, knowing that he would not offer her anything caffeinated this late in the evening. It would most probably be chamomile tea that he would make. She was actually thinking that she would prefer just making out on the couch, but that wasn't a very mature thing to say out loud, or even think. She hummed and gave him a small peck on the lips when he turned and offered her a mug. Her immature thoughts had her blushing a bit. She made her way to the living room and sat almost in the middle of the couch. Andy squeezed himself between the armrest and Sharon and laid down his mug on the table. She put her cup down as well, and leaned against his arm lightly. Spending time with Andy like this was nice.

"So how have you been since we got back?" Andy started hesitantly, reaching forward for his cup after a moment. They saw each other almost every day of the week, but they hadn't really talked since coming back.

"It was wonderful to spend time with my boys on the weekend."

"I'm sure it was. How is Rusty adapting to you being back?"

"I think he is just happy to be home with me. He mumbled something this morning about living with me having perks over living with Provenza. Had something to do with the general cleanliness of the place."

"Ah yes." Andy smiled. Provenza wasn't exactly famous for having a neat and tidy place. Andy had on occasion had to give the kitchen a good scrubbing before cooking for the old man.

Sharon just hummed and leaned against Andy's side. She was craving the physical aspects of being with him more than she had cared to admit to herself. Andy snuck a hand around her shoulders and pulled her head onto his shoulder, marveling at how perfectly she fit there. He was holding the warm cup of tea in one hand and stroking Sharon's hair with the other. This was definitely something that he wouldn't mind getting used to.

"Personally, I like to think that he just missed me." She smiled and pressed her head against Andy's neck. She inhaled the smell of his cologne and closed her eyes.

 _I miss you,_ Andy wanted to say but kept silent. The last thing he wanted to do was to spook her. He let the silence settle around them like a warm blanket. It was comforting, just feeling her body heat against his and sipping the tea from his cup.

 _It had been a long day at the office, as their days usually were. Everyone else had wrapped up and gone home, but Andy was waiting to make sure that Sharon left at a somewhat decent hour. Her door was open and he could hear the soft hums as she filled out some final stacks of paperwork. He got up and knocked on her door softly._

 _"Hey" he smiled at her._

 _"Hey" she looked up and smiled._

 _"Need help?"_

 _"Sure" she said and pushed a few files to the edge of her desk. Instead of sitting across from her, he pulled up a chair and sat next to her. He didn't say anything, just smiled at her surprised expression. They read in silence for many long minutes before Andy glanced at her. Her face was partially obscured by that luscious hair and he could smell her perfume. He took a deep breath in to smell it better. She had discarded her jacket a while ago, and Andy wondered what color her underwear was under the purple silk shirt. He cleared his throat to get himself to focus on what he was reading. He really had to get a grip._

 _"Something distracting you Andy?" Sharon said in a sensual voice, and laid her hand on his wrist gently. Andy felt his pulse jump under her fingertips. He was positive that she had felt it too. She moved her hand to his neck and pretended to adjust his shirt collar and then tie a bit. He knew that she was just looking for an excuse to touch his neck. Their eyes met, and then Andy's hand was on Sharon's thigh, squeezing softly._

 _"No nothing at all Sharon…" he said gruffly. Her hand moved from his tie down to his abdomen. It was coming dangerously close to his waist. His hand gave her thigh a gentle squeeze and slipped upwards under the tight hem of the black pencil skirt._

 _"Got something on your mind?" he asked, pulling her chair closer to his since hers was the one with wheels. His hand was teasing her thigh gently, moving closer and closer to where he wanted his hand to be. He brushed her panties very lightly, so lightly that he could just barely feel their silky material. Was it his imagination or did she open her legs apart a fraction to welcome his touch?_

 _"Andy…" she sounded out of breath. He closed the distance between their lips and hungrily kissed her. Now she was definitely making more space for his hand to drift up the her core. He could feel the wetness through the material._

"Well this feels nice" Sharon hummed against his neck and Andy was jerked from his thoughts. He blushed furiously but luckily Sharon didn't notice a think with her face pressed against his neck. He decided to blame her warm body against his for the fantasy that had just started playing out in his mind.

"Yeah" That came out raspier than Andy had meant. He wanted to turn her in his arms. He wanted to press her body against his own. His thoughts were interrupted by Sharon's soft voice.

"Have you spoken to Nicole recently?"

"Yeah, a couple of days ago. She's fine. The step-sons are keeping her busy."

"Have you talked to your sponsor?"

"Yeah, we met for coffee over the weekend, and we've talked on the phone a few times. He was relieved to hear where I had been. It's been almost 20 years but I think he still fears that I'll fall off the wagon one day."

"One step at a time, one day at a time, right?"

"Yeah, that's right" He said as he turned to kiss the top of her head. This woman understood him so well. It made him sad to think that it was because she had had to watch her former husband struggle and fail with his own addiction.

Sharon didn't say anything else to that. She was content just resting her head against Andy's shoulder and listening to him sip his tea and breathe. She let several minutes pass in comfortable silence.

"Andy?"

"Hmmh?"

Sharon brought her hand to his cheek. She stroked the day-old stubble and smiled. She wanted to be kissed by this man. She pressed herself closer to Andy and touched her nose to his, her hand going to the back of his neck. No further invitation was necessary. He lowered his head and kissed her gently, all the while stroking her hair with his vacant hand.

Sharon deepened the kiss by touching her tongue to his lips gently, asking for permission. He opened his mouth and Sharon could taste the gentle flavor of the tea. Andy reached towards the table and put his cup down, bringing his now vacant hand to gently touch Sharon's arm. He was leaning against the armrest and she was basically leaning against his chest now. Andy felt as though he had died and gone to heaven. Here his was, on his couch after a long day at work with this amazing woman in his arms. It felt so right. They made out like teenagers for a good while, until things started getting a little bit heated. Andy broke the kiss on purpose and pushed her back an inch from her shoulders.

"Sharon, I think we need to take a little break here…" he said, slightly out of breath. His pants were starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable and they needed to calm down if they were not going to take this further tonight.

"Uh, yeah. Right. I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away there for a minute." It had been more like 20 minutes, but Andy was not about to point that out to her. He smiled at her and looked at her slightly ruffled appearance. Her hair was slightly out of place and her lips were swollen and wet. Whatever lipstick she might have been wearing earlier today was now long gone. She was probably the most desirable woman in the world, he thought, and here she was on his couch making out with him. He felt like whooping and doing a little victory dance.

"What?" Sharon asked, baffled. She blushed a bit. "I must look awful after the long day."

Andy waited until she made eye contact with him again. She was so adorable when she got shy like this all of a sudden. It was the vulnerable side of her that he so rarely got to see.

"Sharon… you are so utterly adorable and I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you here like this" he couldn't help it slipping out. He felt so much for this woman, yet he couldn't vocalize it for fear of her balking. She blushed, this time quite visibly.

"I am the lucky one here Andy" she whispered and kissed him gently again.

Somewhere in her purse she could hear her cell ringing. It was getting late and she should get going anyway before things became too heated with Andy. She was tempted to stay while longer and see where things led. They had only been together that one night after Linda's Halloween party, and she wanted to make more memories like that, but she also wanted to take things slowly with Andy. Rushing into bed would not accomplish anything, and she wanted this relationship to have a solid foundation before anything else.

"This was a lovely evening Andy, but I think I should get going."

"Yeah, I uh… I know we agreed to take this slowly."

She leaned in for another gentle kiss before getting up and making her way to her purse to check who had called. She knew it wasn't work since they had just closed a case that day.

"Oh, it was Pete who called." She was pleasantly surprised. Pete had called her over the weekend when Ricky had been visiting, so she hadn't had much time to talk to him but he had mentioned something about calling her back at a better time during the week.

"Oh?" Andy was surprised, but managed to keep the jealousy from his voice.

"Yeah, oh I completely forgot that we had agreed to talk this week about some case that he wanted my input on."

"Oh?" Andy was even more surprised when she provided this information, and couldn't help but wonder if Pete was just calling for work or if there was more to it. He was a nice guy in great physical shape for his age, and Andy had had a feeling in Tacoma that Pete had a small crush on Sharon. Sure, the guy had kept a respectful distance to Sharon, thinking that Andy and she were married, but now all bets were off since he knew that they had been pretending for the sake of their cover story.

"Yeah, I better call him from home so that I can focus on what he wanted to talk about properly." Sharon smiled at him and patted his cheek gently, turning to put her coat on. She was completely oblivious to the churning that was going on in Andy's mind at the thought of Sharon talking to Pete after the wonderful evening that they had just spent together.

Jealousy was an ugly feeling that Andy didn't want to experience, but it was definitely jealousy that had him press Sharon against the wall and kiss her thoroughly once again. He deepened the kiss on purpose, wanting to brand her as his. He didn't know where these primal feelings were coming from, but he wanted her to feel the passion and desire in his actions. By the time they came up for air, Sharon was panting and her pupils were definitely dilated. It was desire that Andy saw in her face, and it made him feel slightly better. At least he still had that.

"Right, ok. Well… good night Andy." She smiled at him again, feeling hot and aroused.

"Good night Sharon. See you at work tomorrow." He looked at her and let some of the desire he felt show in his eyes. He needed her to know that he wanted her in every possible sense of the word.

With that she smiled again and turned to walk to her car that was parked in the driveway. It took every ounce of her self-control to start her car and drive away instead of going back inside and asking Andy to take her to his bed.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I'm glad you are enjoying the story. This is a short chapter and I am already editing the next one so it'll be up within the next few days.

SsS

The next few weeks flew by quickly. The Major Crimes team was busy with case after case, and there was little rest between murders. Andy had quickly learned to keep things strictly professional between them at work. Sharon was friendly, but as expected she didn't let any indication show that their relationship had changed up in Washington. Andy had a sneaking suspicion that Tao and Provenza suspected that he and Sharon had become closer, but none of them brought it up in any way and Andy tried to maintain a 100% professional facade. It had been Sharon's wish to keep any information about their relationship strictly between them for now. Andy and Sharon hadn't really had any time to reconnect since the dinner at Andy's house. Rusty was home most nights so Sharon hadn't invited Andy over and there was a lot going on at all hours of the day at work as usual.

"Captain, I just wanted to give…" Andy said as he stepped into Sharon's office without looking up from the papers he had in his hand, only to realize that she was on the phone when he heard her voice.

"Yes. That is right. Hmmmhh." Sharon was saying into the phone and smiling. It was clearly a personal conversation, as she would never use that softer tone of voice for any business interactions. He gave her an apologetic smile and turned to go back to his desk. She held up a finger and gave him a small smile to indicate that she'd only be a moment.

Back from his desk Andy could see that she was enjoying talking to whoever was at the other end. She was twirling her hair around her finger, smiling and even laughing at whatever the other person was saying to her. Definitely not a business call then, probably Emily or Ricky. She looked young and happy talking to that person. Andy wondered if she was aware of twirling her hair like that. It seemed to be an unconscious gesture, and one that made her look very girlish. She ended the call, and Andy tried his luck again by approaching her doorway.

Sharon was busy looking for something in her purse and bending over slightly, which gave Andy's imagination free reign when it came to the small slit at the back of her pencil skirt. He felt his mouth go dry. All of a sudden his imagination was taking him to places that he had no right being with his boss at work. He couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing black lace under that skirt.

"Captain…" he started again uncertainly. He felt like his mouth was full of cotton wool.

"Oh Andy. I didn't hear you come in." Sharon blushed slightly, and her eyes were sparkling a little bit more than usual. She looked a little flustered and because of the slight blush on her neck and cheeks, perhaps even a bit aroused. Andy couldn't for the life of him remember why he was in her room. Must have something to do with the papers that he was holding in his hand. He had a sudden urge to close her blinds and door. He wanted to do all sorts of things to her on the desk that involved undressing her and seeing just exactly how far down that slight blush would go. He wanted to taste her skin and smell her hair.

"Are those the test results?" She smiled at him, taking a step closer.

"Yes. The test results." Andy repeated like an idiot. Now that she was closer he could actually smell her perfume. He was mesmerized as always with her eyes and soft voice. She looked so good in her pencil skirt and green silk shirt.

"Who were you talking to?" Andy inquired, fully expecting to hear that it had been Emily or Ricky or even Gavin. She looked happy and carefree, a rare occurrence at work.

"Oh it was just Pete." She focused on the test results that Andy had come to bring her, brushing Andy's question off with a seemingly innocent answer.

"Pete? As in Pete from Washington?"

"Hmmh" she hummed, her mind already fully focused on the papers in her hand.

"Oh. I didn't realize that you were keeping in touch with him so frequently" Andy said, suddenly very irked and jealous, but managing to keep it all out of his voice. He had to swallow several times to keep himself in check.

"Yeah, we talk almost every day… he's actually thinking of coming down for a weekend…" Sharon trailed off as her mind was working on the test results that seemed to show a discrepancy in something that she couldn't quite put her finger on yet. She was completely oblivious to the way Andy was reacting to the fact that she kept in touch with Pete, although it was more the other way around actually. Pete often called her a few times a week, and at first it had been mostly about cases that he was working on, but lately they had started talking more about their families and other things that had nothing to do with work. Sharon had started enjoying their frequent talks on the phone, and found herself looking forward to their talks more often than not. It was refreshing to have a friend that one could talk to about almost anything.

Andy felt like the bottom of his world had just disappeared. Here he was, head over heels in love with his boss whom he saw at work every day, and fantasized about constantly, and he'd just found out that she was talking to Pete quite frequently. Pete the _lawyer_ who ran a successful business up in Washington and ran _marathons_ in his free time. Pete, who was tall and handsome and in very good shape for his age. Pete, who probably had a crush on Sharon and who was planning to come down for a weekend. And she had been all flustered when she finished the phone call just now. If she had been flustered after that call in the office, then what exactly did they talk about in the evenings? Was this why Sharon and he hadn't really had time to spend any time together since that dinner at his place a few weeks ago? Oh dear god, this was probably one of the worst day of Andy's life. He felt like punching his fist through a wall. He could feel his blood pressure rising. He needed to go to a meeting right away. Here he was, pining for a woman whom he had thought he had some sort of a relationship with, who turned out was talking to another man in her free time and making plans with him. And he hadn't even had a chance to spend time with Sharon more than once since they'd come back from Tacoma.

"If it's ok with you captain, I'm going to call it a day." Andy was unable to meet her gaze.

"Huh?" Sharon looked up from the test results. There was something about them that she felt was just beyond her reach. Something about them was very wrong.

"I think I'm going to head to a meeting…" Andy trailed off. He was desperate for some sort of a graceful exit before Sharon noticed how distraught he was over the revelation that she was talking to Pete every day although she barely had time to sleep sometimes because of the workload.

"Oh of course Andy, it's about time we call it a day here anyway. Rusty will expect dinner soon." She said looking at him. She touched his hand gently, noticing that there was something on his mind. He didn't look fine.

"Andy, are you ok? Is this case taking an extra toll on you? Is it your blood pressure?" She frowned and gave his hand a small squeeze. She never touched him at work, and even now she made sure with the way that they were standing that nobody else was able to see the small intimate gesture of touching his hand in case someone in the murder room happened to look their way.

"Yeah it's the case… and I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately" he quickly made up an excuse. Sharon frowned, she didn't like that she hadn't noticed earlier that something was wrong.

"Are you ok getting to your meeting and home by yourself or you need me to arrange a ride?" Andy wanted to wince when he heard the concern in her voice. Now she was worried about him for nothing.

"No I'm ok. I'll be fine. I'll just go to a meeting and then home after that." He attempted to smile, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. He wanted to press her against the wall and slide his hands up her skirt. He wanted to kiss her and make her moan his name with want. He wanted her so badly he felt like all the air had left the room. But why was she talking to Pete almost every day and what were they talking about every night? She didn't even talk to him every day. His head was spinning. He needed to get out of the building and to a meeting.

He sat through two meetings that night, wondering how a person could feel so inadequate and unworthy of someone they were hopelessly in love with.

SsS

Later than night when she had enjoyed a quiet dinner with Rusty Sharon brushed out her hair and got ready for bed. She was still wondering how Andy was doing since he had not texted her after his meeting, and Sharon was a bit surprised by that. They normally exchanged a few texts if not a phone call in the evenings. She tried to call him but he didn't pick up and Sharon really didn't want to disturb him in case he was with his sponsor or still at a late night meeting.

She decided to text just to make sure that he knew that she was concerned. She figured that a text message was less intrusive than a phone call.

"Hope your meeting was ok and that you got home ok" she sent him. A moment later her phone buzzed to indicate that he had replied. That was odd. Normally it would take a while for him to reply if he hadn't seen her call. He'd probably been in the shower or something.

"Meeting was fine thanks Captain." Sharon frowned at that. It sounded as though Andy was in a bad mood. Surely they had passed the point in their relationship a long time ago when they used each other's ranks when talking to each other.

"It's Sharon. I'm worried about you Andy." She replied with a hint of annoyance, but trying to keep it civil for both of their sakes.

"I'll be fine. I'll see you at work tomorrow" was the curt reply. Now Sharon knew that something was definitely up. Andy was usually playful and affectionate if not straight out flirty in his responses to her texts at this time of the night.

"Sleep well" she sent to him after contemplating for a long time what to say. There was so much more she wanted to say.

SsS

The following days at work Andy seemed to keep a distance from Sharon. He made sure that they were never alone in a room together if he was able to. They solved case after case and Andy did his job to the best of his ability. Every time Sharon's phone rang he winced internally. He didn't want to know who was at the other end. At least once or twice he was sure that Sharon was talking to Pete. She was smiling and twirling her hair around her finger again, and she looked adorable, except for the fact that she was talking to _the douchebag_ , as Andy had started calling Pete in his thoughts. He felt guilty about it because Pete was really a very nice guy and didn't deserve Andy's resentment or anger. At the same time, he felt like Sharon was slipping further and further away from him.

Sharon noticed that something was up with Andy and tried to approach him several times, but got rebuffed every time. He was not rude, no, but he kept things very professional between them at work and seemed to be busy on most evenings. She was a bit hurt by his actions, although she had to remind herself that she was the one who had wanted to keep their relationship under wraps at the office and to take the relationship slowly. They didn't talk or exchange messages every night anymore either. Sharon had a distinct feeling that Andy was trying to keep his distance, and she knew that he had been going to meetings a lot lately. Whenever they did exchange messages nowadays he kept them short and to the point and Sharon was always the one who instigated the conversations. She found that she missed him. She missed the funny, warm and gentle Andy who had been her friend and more up in Tacoma.

After yet another long day at the office she was about to ask Andy if he wanted to get dinner together but overheard Provenza asking him where his meeting was taking place, so she decided to hold her tongue and go straight home to Rusty instead. If he was going through a rough patch with his sobriety then he needed to deal with that in his own way and Sharon knew that nothing was more important to Andy than his sobriety. She would give him the space and time to deal with whatever had made him need to go to meetings more frequently.

sSs

"Hi everybody. My name is Andy."

" Hi Andy" the crowd echoed back.

"I wanted to talk tonight about something that's almost made me reach for the bottle a few times in the last couple of weeks. I just feel like I need to get this out so that I don't stop at a liquor store on my way home tonight, because I've come so close a few times since… some things happened." Andy paused and sipped water from the glass up at the podium.

"There is this person in my life. A woman. She and I… we were thrown together by some crazy circumstances recently, and had to spend a lot of time together away from our families and friends. And during that time we grew closer and closer, and eventually I thought we had something between the two of us. I have developed very deep feelings for her and I thought that she had feelings for me as well." Andy had to pause to take a deep breath.

"The truth is that I've been in love with her for a long time now. But then… I recently found out that there is someone else in her life. Someone that she talks to more often than me, and every time she does she looks so happy. Her eyes light up and she starts playing with her hair and she… well, she talks to that person the same way she talks to me, or at least used to when we were… closer. And it just… it hurts me so much to see her like that with someone else, when all I want is for her to see me and to… well I guess I want her to love me. I really want her to love me the same way I love her. But I also want her to be happy. I just… I wish she could be happy with me. That's… that's all I can say tonight. Thanks everyone for listening."


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you for all the reviews once again. I'm glad so many people are enjoying this story. Real life is getting in the way but I'll try to keep the updates coming. Enjoy!

SsS

It was the week of Thanksgiving that Sharon decided that they needed to talk. She had assumed that Andy would be spending Thanksgiving with her and Rusty, at least partially, so she decided to approach him about it since it was only a few days away now. Talking after dinner would be perfect since they'd both be relaxed and in a good mood.

"Andy" she started when everyone else was out for lunch and the murder room was empty. Andy had had to stay to make a few phone calls.

"Yes captain" he turned around and looked at Sharon.

"Andy, Sharon is here to talk to Andy" she tried in a gentle tone that always worked on him. She gave him a brilliant smile and let some of her feelings show in her eyes.

"Ok, how can I help you Sharon?" Andy looked at her. It was not quite what she had hoped for, but at least he had dropped the rank and was addressing her by her first name for what seemed like the first time since their dinner at his place.

"So Thanksgiving will be here in less than a week, and I was wondering if you would like to come and have Thanksgiving dinner at my condo with Rusty and me? Ricky might be coming too." She smiled at him, knowing that he would enjoy eating with them. She saw his eyes turn to a spot near her shoulder. He looked a bit embarrassed all of a sudden.

"Well the thing is Sharon, I'm…" he was hesitating and trying to look everywhere except her eyes. He cleared his throat. "Well, the thing is that Nicole invited me over to her place and I've sort of accepted that invitation since I didn't know if…"

Sharon felt her cheeks bloom with embarrassment. Of course he had made other plans. They had hardly spoken properly in weeks and now this. She had just assumed that he would be happy to spend Thanksgiving with her and Rusty, but Andy had his daughter to think about now that their relationship had improved.

"Of course Andy" she jumped in before he had had a chance to finish his sentence. "I'm happy that Nicole and you will get to spend some time together. I'm sorry I just assumed… never mind Andy."

Sharon quickly finished the conversation and retreated back into her office. She felt like crying. Things had been going so well with Andy back up in Washington and now it seemed like after that dinner at his place things had taken a giant leap backwards. She missed him terribly and had been hoping that Thanksgiving would give them a chance to reconnect again. She missed talking to him and being near him. She craved the physical connection as well, and had hoped that they'd be able to at least have a few hours alone on Thanksgiving to get reacquainted on that level too. She wanted to be held by him.

SsS

Rusty had been an amazing help in the kitchen to help prepare the big dinner. The team had caught another case in the days leading up to Thanksgiving so Sharon had had to rely on Rusty to do some grocery shopping and preparations as she was stuck at work. They had managed to close the case on Wednesday night and Sharon had all of Thursday to prepare the foods that she always made for Thanksgiving. She was happy to have the day and weekend off, but her thoughts kept drifting to Andy. She missed him and wondered what he was doing today before going over to Nicole's place. He was probably resting. She longed to talk to him about something non-work related.

She picked up her phone several times while preparing the stuffing for the turkey and stopped herself right before her finger hit the dial-button. She felt that she was on shaky ground with Andy. She had tried to be friendly to him at work, nothing out of the ordinary of course, but he was very business-like. More so than before they had gone up to Tacoma together. He was not cold towards her, but not warm and friendly either. And now this, Andy not coming over to eat dinner on Thanksgiving of all days. Sharon had a feeling that something had gone wrong between the two of them but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She brushed her troubled thoughts away and continued with the dinner preparations.

Before she knew it, it was already time to eat dinner. Rusty had picked Ricky up from the airport a few hours earlier and Sharon had had everything ready for them for dinner. Ricky had cut the turkey and they had just finished eating the main course when Sharon heard her phone ring. She got up to get it from the kitchen counter expecting the caller to be Emily. They had agreed to talk on the phone tonight, although she wasn't supposed to call for another hour or so.

She frowned when she saw the caller ID. Nicole. Maybe it was Nicole and Andy wanting to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. It was kind of them to call.

"Hi Nicole" Sharon said brightly. She kept a smile on her face, knowing that it would be reflected in her voice.

"Sharon, happy Thanksgiving. I hope I am not interrupting your dinner?"

"Nicole, no not at all. In fact we just finished the mains and will not take a little break before digging into the dessert. I hope your dinner went well?"

"Yes, thank you. My husband prepared the turkey this year and I think I will give him the honor of preparing it from now on because he managed to keep from burning it like I always do." Nicole laughed.

"I'm glad to hear that Nicole. Rusty did a wonderful job preparing all that I needed and I was able to finish everything today. I am just so glad I didn't get called into work today" Sharon trailed off.

"Listen Sharon, I don't mean to interrupt your evening, but I was wondering if I could talk to my father? His phone is turned off and I thought since he's there…"

"Your father?"

"Yes"

"Nicole I don't know what he told you but he is not here."

There was silence at the other end for a few moments.

"He's not there?" Nicole's voice had taken a new tone now. Sharon could hear that she was getting worried.

"No, he isn't." Sharon was starting to get worried too now.

"Nicole, what did he say to you about tonight?"

"He said that he had already accepted an invitation to have dinner at your place when I asked him a few days ago."

"I see." Sharon was at a loss for words. She didn't want to worry Nicole, and she didn't want Nicole to know that Andy had told her that he'd be having dinner at Nicole's place. Sharon knew instinctively that Nicole was feeling betrayed that she had been lied to, and Sharon knew that alcoholics often lied to their loved ones when they were drinking. But surely Andy was not drinking again? She didn't even want to think about that possibility, not after almost 20 years of sobriety. Surely Andy would not go down that path? What about a medical emergency? Andy had seemed fine at work yesterday, but that was almost 24 hours ago. While all these thoughts were running through Sharon's mind, she was simultaneously already calculating the time it would take for her to get to Andy's house from her condo if she got in the car right now. Sharon was so enveloped in her own thoughts that didn't even notice the absolute silence at Nicole's end. She took a deep breath. For both their sakes she had to remain calm.

"Nicole, I know that you have the kids there, so I will go over to his place and check that he is ok. I have the keys to his place so don't worry. I'll message you once I get there."

"Ok Sharon. I… I don't know what to say. What if something has happened to him?" Sharon could hear the concern and at the same time anger in Nicole's voice. Neither one of them needed to vocalize their thoughts, each knew what was going through the other one's head. Sharon said a silent prayer to herself.

"Nicole, we need to remain calm. I'm going to go and check on him. I'll call or message you when I get there."

"Ok. Thank you Sharon." With that Sharon ended the call and explained to her sons that she had to go check on Andy. They had heard her side of the exchange, so there was really not much that needed to be explained. Both boys could read Sharon's body language like an open book, so they could see that she was very worried. They offered to go with her, but since things hadn't been going well with Andy lately, she decided that she'd rather not have an audience with her. Whatever was going on, she would rather face it alone this time.

SsS

A million thoughts ran through her head on the ride over to Andy's place. Thoughts of their good times here in L.A. and of good and bad times up in Tacoma. Memories of their one night together and her daring behavior during Linda's Halloween party. Oh how she had wanted to get closer to him that night, and they had. She thought of the last time that they had kissed in his hallway and the way she had wanted to go back inside and ask Andy to take her to his bedroom. The truth was that she missed him horribly. She worried about him since they weren't talking as much as they used to. She missed the friendship and easy conversation.

As she got closer to his house, she worried that she'd find him in his house passed out in the middle of bottles. Or that he was injured and had been unable to call for help. The thought of him not being there was the worst thought of all, because she didn't have any idea where to look for him if he wasn't at his house.

The moment she pulled up into his driveway she could see that the lights in the kitchen were on, and the curtains of the living room were closed. Seemed like he was at home then. The thought relieved her worries a bit, but it also made her a little bit angry. Why did he lie to her and Nicole that he was going over if he had decided to stay at home? Didn't he realize that they might talk and start worrying about him? Then she started worrying again that he was drunk or injured inside the house.

She walked up to his door quickly and rung the doorbell impatiently. She could hear some noises coming from inside. After what seemed to be forever a voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?" Andy called. Relief flooded Sharon's every muscle. She wanted to cry. He was at least semi-ok if he was able to sound that angry through the door.

"Andy? It's me." She called back.

After a moment of silence he opened the door. His hair was sticking in every direction as if he had been raking his fingers through it. He was wearing jeans and a Dodgers t-shirt.

"Andy" Sharon let out and stepped closer to him, reaching to touch his cheek. His skin was warm and solid. She looked into his eyes, search for any signs of intoxication. He held her gaze. He was angry, and Sharon didn't know why but at least he appeared uninjured and sober at first glance. She couldn't smell alcohol on him either. She felt the muscles in her back loosen. She hadn't even realized how tense she had been on the way over.

"Are you ok?" she kept looking at him until he turned his gaze away and took a step back so that he was out of her reach. Sharon felt the rejection. He didn't want her here. He hadn't stepped away from the door or asked her to come in. Sharon was happy that he seemed ok, but hurt and confused by his behavior.

"I'm fine captain" came the brisk reply. It irked Sharon to no end. Here she was, standing outside of his house on Thanksgiving, having driven here in the dark all worried that he had started drinking or that he was injured. It was like he was looking for a fight.

"It's Sharon, Andy, and the decent thing to do would be to invite me in" she said bitingly.

He didn't say a word, just stepped inside and walked towards the kitchen. She closed the door and followed him, glancing into the living room on her way to the kitchen. The TV in the living room was on, although it was on mute. There was a glass of clear liquid sitting on his coffee table, but no bottles to Sharon's relief.

She followed him into the kitchen. He had his back towards her and was staring out of the window. Sharon did a quick scan of the kitchen. No bottles there either. She wanted to sag against the doorframe out of relief, but now that she knew Andy was out of danger she was starting to get very pissed off by his behavior. She had driven here in the dark worried out of her mind, and he wasn't very friendly or happy to see him. She had basically had to ask him to let her in. Something was going on with Andy and she needed to know what.

"Nicole called me." Sharon let that sink in for a while before continuing. "She wanted to talk to her father who had told her that he was having dinner with me."

Andy didn't say anything. He was so ashamed of his behavior. He had even switched off his phone because he had not wanted to deal with either Sharon or Nicole tonight. He had gone to a meeting and gotten home about an hour before. He really didn't even know what to say to Sharon. He couldn't bare her touch. It was too much. His cheek felt like it had a burn mark where she had just touched him gently moments ago.

"Andy" Sharon said, deciding to go with another tactic since making him feel guilty had not gotten him to talk. "I can see that something is wrong. You haven't been talking to me the way we used to talk, and now this. You turned my invitation down and you lied to me and your daughter. She was worried about you. I was worried about you."

The moment she said that she realized that she had promised to message or call Nicole when she had news. In the lingering silence, she sent a quick text to Nicole just informing her that Andy was fine. Nicole was probably upset with him for lying to her and it would be best to let her cool off a bit before father and daughter reconnected.

Andy still didn't say anything, so Sharon closed the distance between them. She stood right next to him, leaning against the counter. She could feel his body heat on her cool skin. He rubbed his hand against his face.

"I'm fine Sharon." He growled through his teeth.

"No Andy, I can see that you are not fine and we need to talk about this. I don't deserve to be treated like this, and neither does Nicole. We care about you Andy, we worry about you when you pull a Houdini on us like this."

"I'm fine, and I think you should go." Andy could smell her hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see how beautiful she looked in those dark jeans and pink top with her trench coat tied loosely at the front. She was like a drug to his system and all he could think of was pulling her to him. He wanted to bury his nose in her hair and inhale the scent of her shampoo. God knew he would never have enough of her even if he held her every day for the rest of his life.

"No." Sharon let that sink in. She had come all this way and she was determined that they would have it out tonight. Something was bothering him and they needed to reconnect again. This wasn't healthy for either one of them. One way or another he would talk to her. She reached out for his cheek and gently forced him to look at her. There was so much anger and anguish in his gaze she almost backed away from him.

"What's wrong Andy? Talk to me. Please. We are friends, remember?" At that last comment, she could see the pain in his eyes. It was like he couldn't bear to look at her.

"Sharon…" He groaned and just stared at her. There was that damn word again, friend. He wanted so much more, but in these past few weeks when he had come to realize that Sharon was frequently talking to Pete he had felt so unworthy of her. How could an old alcoholic ever compete with a guy like Pete? There was no way. Sharon deserved so much more than him. Things that Pete was in a way better position to offer.

Andy didn't know if it was the feeling of Sharon's warm fingers against his cheek and side of his neck, or the vulnerable look in her eyes, but something made the dam of pain inside of him burst and he pulled her body against his. Sharon found herself between the counter and Andy, and his head was buried against her neck. He was so tense. She could feel it in his muscles. He was holding onto her like his life depended on it. She wondered where this desperation was coming from.

Andy could feel every soft curve of Sharon's body against his. He was clinging onto her. It had been weeks since he had last held her like this. All the anger and despair and frustration was simmering right beneath the surface, trying to get out. He pressed his eyes closed and just focused on inhaling her scent. He needed this so badly. He just needed this woman in his life, one way or another. Even if he wasn't the one to make her happy and could never be worthy of her, he just needed her presence.

"Andy…" he heard Sharon sigh and felt a kiss on his temple. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see her pained expression and kissed her on the cheek, moving his head so that their foreheads were touching. He didn't want to talk or think. He just wanted to feel. Feel her warm and soft curves pressed against his body. He wanted to believe for a few moments that in some alternative universe he could have her like this forever. Still he refused to open his eyes for fear of what he might see there. Pain. Frustration. Sadness. Or worst of all, rejection. _Just one more kiss_ he thought. Just one more taste of heaven before he'd give her up to Pete. He kissed her on the lips hesitantly at first. Then deepened the kiss when he felt her respond. Sharon was still between the counter and his body, and she felt so good against him. He had known for weeks if not months that he was in love with her, and he needed her in his life in as much as a fish needed water. His hands were on her hips now and he was still kissing her. Kissing her like there was no tomorrow and nothing around them existed. It felt good to just _feel_.

Sharon felt Andy's hands against the skin of her lower back. His warm large hands were starting a wildfire in her body that she was afraid she'd not be able to extinguish this time. Then realization hit her. There was no need to try to hold her feelings at bay. They were two consenting adults and maybe this would be a way for them to reconnect. She knew that they should talk it all out, but being held and wanted by Andy after so many rejections felt so good, and she didn't want to break the fragile connection.

They kissed for what felt like an eternity. Andy's hands found their way under Sharon's top, but stopped short of undoing her bra. Sharon felt like her breasts were burning to be touched. Her nipples were aching, wanting Andy's touch so badly. When they came up for air, Andy would not meet her gaze again, so Sharon just took his hand and placed it on her right breast. Andy got the hint and started kissing her again, all the while softly caressing her breasts now. It didn't take a long time for him after that to unclasp her bra. Sharon could feel the evidence of his desire against her stomach.

"Andy, I think we should take this to a more private location" she whispered into his ear, when he was about to remove her top in the kitchen. Sharon was reasonably sure that there weren't many people out and about who'd be able to see them from the street, but she wanted to keep this part of her life very private. Andy didn't say a word, just took her hand and led her to the bedroom where they continued kissing and where Sharon was starting to get a bit impatient trying to undress Andy. She wanted him badly. It had been too long since the last time.

"God you are so beautiful Sharon" Andy whispered into her ear when she was finally lying underneath him naked on the bed. When he entered her he felt at home. It was like all was right in the universe again when he was inside of her and she was looking up at him with a vulnerable expression in her green eyes. It was too much to handle. He could not look at her, and instead whispered her name over and over again into her ear as he rhythmically thrust into her. There was so much more he wanted to say, but he feared that Sharon would not want to hear it and he didn't want rejection, not tonight and not in this situation. The moment he exploded inside of her he felt guilty.

Andy knew that he hadn't been good to her these past few weeks. He had been trying to deal with his own feelings of inadequacy and pain and he had lashed out on several occasions. He'd rejected her every time she had tried to approach him, and he knew he had hurt her. He really could have handled tonight better as well. She was here because she had been worried. He had dragged her away from her family on Thanksgiving when she should have been at home enjoying the company of her loved ones. He just couldn't seem to be able to stop screwing up when it came to Sharon. She had also asked for them to take this slow, and here they were in his bed. Once upon a time he had imagined that he would somehow find the courage to tell her that he was in love with her, and that they would make slow and passionate love to each other afterwards. But this coupling tonight had nothing to do with love and somehow it had all gone terribly wrong. This was all pain and desperation on his part.

Andy sat up on the side of the bed and rubbed his hand against his face once again. The woman that he loved was in his bed, and they had just had sex, but he was feeling awful about himself. The physical release had been powerful but everything else about this night and situation felt ugly and wrong now that the lust was out of the way. He could feel Sharon's warm hand against the skin of his back, stroking him gently.

"Sharon, I'm sorry…" Andy felt the rest of the words get stuck in his throat. He was sorry for being an asshole towards her. He was sorry that he could not be enough for her. He was sorry for taking her to his bed although she had specifically asked for more time for their relationship to develop. She had wanted to take things slowly and had asked for space and here they were.

"Just talk to me Andy" Sharon whispered.

"I just… I'm really sorry about this…" Andy found himself fumbling for words. He didn't even know where to start. He needed to apologize for so many things.

Sharon felt a cold shiver wash down her back. They had just done the most intimate thing that two people could do, and Andy was feeling sorry about it? She didn't really know what to think. Why was he apologizing?

"What are you sorry for Andy? Talk to me, please?" She whispered. She felt the tears threatening.

"I didn't want this to…" _happen like this_ he wanted to add, but found that the words were stuck in his throat _._ She would balk if he pushed her too hard with his feelings. There were so many things Andy wanted to say. He had wanted to make love to Sharon slowly and passionately and he had wanted to tell her about his feelings. The love he felt for her now felt like a heavy burden that made his days around her harder and harder to bear.

Sharon felt the tears force themselves out. "I see" was the only thing she was able to get out. The pain that those words caused her was coming close to all of the painful things that Jack had said to her over the years. She slowly rose from the bed. With shaky hands, she picked up her underwear from the floor and slipped into it. This had been a mistake, a huge mistake to think that they could reconnect physically when they didn't have an open line of communication. She could not blame anyone else for it either. She should have known that sex would not heal the rift that had started developing between them slowly since they had come back to L.A.

She quietly slipped into the rest of her clothes and out of the bedroom. Listening to the sounds behind him, Andy didn't know how things had gone this wrong but he knew that he had to try to talk to her before she left or something between them would be irrevocably broken. He threw on his green robe to cover the stickiness of their joining that was still evident on his skin.

"Sharon" he managed to get out just as she was putting her coat on by the door. She turned to him, the tears on her cheeks making her mascara run.

"Oh shit… Sharon… I just meant" Andy tried to explain in vain but the words were stuck in his throat. His emotions were a mess and he had managed to screw up the most important relationship in his life once again. How could he explain everything. He didn't know but he had to try.

"Sharon, I never meant to hurt you… I just, I've managed to screw everything up again haven't I?" he raked his fingers through his hair in exasperation, wanting nothing more than to pull her against him and make her somehow feel better. He was torn between letting her leave and asking her to stay.

"Andy, it seemed to work really well between us for a while up in Tacoma didn't it? But it seems to me that things are harder back here. I don't know if it's our jobs or our busy lives with the kids and everything else but I have been struggling with how to define this… whatever this is between us and I am constantly on edge and confused by your behavior. I don't know what you want from me and I don't want to continue like this." She wiped some of the tears away from her cheeks, knowing that her makeup was ruined for the evening.

"I know I've been a mess since we came back. I just… I struggle with..."

"I know Andy. Maybe we should just give it some time? Take a break from each other and this thing between us and see how things progress from there? Maybe we can get back what we had in Tacoma or maybe we can't and time will tell." Sharon wiped away some more tears. "I need to go. I think this is enough for one night. I'll see you at work."

As Andy watched her reverse out of his driveway, he couldn't help but feel that he had lost something that he had never known he had had in the first place.


	14. Chapter 14

This is a shorter chapter but the next one will probably already be up tomorrow, so stay tuned! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and private messages once again!

SsS

It had been a few weeks since Thanksgiving, and it seemed that the quickly approaching Christmas season was bringing all sorts of crazies out of the woodwork. The team had gotten called out on a brutal domestic violence case that had turned violent and lethal in the end. There had also been an odd disappearance that had turned out to be nothing but a prank and had been a complete waste of effort and energy for the team. Everyone was hoping that the last few weeks leading up to Christmas would be quiet with some normal cases to solve, if there was such a thing for this team. They were silently keeping their fingers crossed for the next few days to be quiet especially, since it was a Friday afternoon and everyone was hoping to have the weekend to themselves.

Things had been tense between Andy and Sharon to say the least. They talked to each other when their jobs required it, but it seemed that all of the friendly familiarity between them had disappeared. Andy was constantly on edge and irritated with everyone. He went to a lot of meetings and tried several times to start a conversation with Sharon about how long she though this so called break in their "thing" for lack of a better word should last, but he always chickened out last second and pretended to be in her office because of business. The truth was that he missed her horribly and wanted to spend time with her.

Provenza had definitely noticed that something was amiss between the two of them and had pressured Andy to get it sorted out before it started affecting the entire team.

"Whatever it is Andy, talk to her and get it out in the open because you are pissed off with everyone 24/7 and even Amy is starting to notice that there is something up with you. Amy, for godssakes!" Provenza hissed at him when everyone else was heading out to lunch.

Sharon was busy in her office on the phone, but Andy felt that maybe this had now gone long enough and he just had to face the music and talk to her. It was eating him up inside that he didn't know what their situation was. He just plain missed her. He wanted to make right what he had messed up between them. Once he noticed that she had finished her phone call he knocked and enter after hearing an almost giddy "yes" from her.

"Hey" he smiled and saw her smiling at her phone. His heart sunk, remembering that one time that she had been talking to Pete when she had looked exactly like this, eyes sparkling and happy.

"Oh" she said as she looked up from her phone screen. Surprised to see Andy standing there.

The sparkle in her eyes disappeared and Andy felt a twinge of disappointment that she wasn't happy to see him. Then again, he had only himself to blame and things had been tense between them for a long time now so she had no reason to be happy about him entering her office. He took a deep calming breath to steady his nerves.

"Good news?" he tried to keep the mood light and gave her a small smile.

"Yes, good news indeed" she breathed out in a rush. Why was she nervous all of a sudden? Her team members came into her office several times a day to hand in reports and paperwork or to discuss findings in their latest case. Except that there was no case. So Andy was not here on business because all of the paperwork had been signed off on a few hours ago and he didn't have anything in his hands either. Andy didn't say anything, just looked at her expectantly, as if to fill him in on something. Oh yes, the phone call of course. Sharon snapped out of it.

"That was Emily. She's been offered a part that she has always wanted in a performance starting in March and she was asking me if I'd like to go and see her perform." She was beaming happily at him now, with pride in her eyes.

"I'm sure it's well deserved" Andy smiled back at her, relieved that it was not Pete that she had been on the phone with. Some of the sparkle was back, and she looked as beautiful as ever in her grey dress. She had removed the jacket that she had been wearing earlier in the day, and the v-cut revealed just enough skin to get Andy's mind wondering. He wanted to touch the warm skin and see how far down he could pull the dress with just one finger.

"So… what brings you here lieutenant?" she said just to bring Andy back to the present from his thoughts. He was looking at her oddly.

"I just… I'm here as Andy. I was… well the truth is that I was wondering if we could talk, maybe… about everything some time tonight or this weekend. Maybe we could get dinner or something? If you are free of course."

"Oh… uhh… this weekend is not the best for me Andy" she said and regretted it immediately when she saw him look down at his hands. "No, Andy it's not a brush off. It's just that Pete is flying into town as we speak, and I have promised to show him around this weekend. He's never been to L.A. before." She continued hastily.

"I see. Ok, well then enjoy your weekend and I'll see you on Monday Sharon." He wasn't quite sure how he managed to sound so civil when all he wanted to do was to beg her not to meet with Pete, not before hearing him out first. But he had no right to ask that of her, and it seemed that he was too late. He couldn't get out of Sharon's office fast enough. To Sharon it seemed that he was almost scrambling over furniture to get out of the room faster. She could not help but feel a twinge of disappointment when he made his hasty departure. It was almost like Andy didn't want to talk to her and was relieved to hear that she had plans with Pete so that the proposed talk could not happen.

By the time the team got back from lunch Andy had managed to his act together again and no one but Provenza saw how devastated he truly was. It was pure luck that they didn't catch a case because Andy would not have been able to do his job with the way he was so distraught. The afternoon went by in a blur, and it was probably one of the least productive days that Andy had ever spent at work.

"Andy!"

"What?"

"I called your name three times! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I'm just…" Andy snapped out of it, realizing that everyone else was gone from the murder room. He hadn't even noticed the rest of the team leaving.

"Moping" Provenza filled the blank for him.

"No I'm not. I'm just thinking!" God almighty, why did Provenza always have to push his buttons like this. It was irritating as hell.

"Yeah right, thinking about a certain brunette captain who left almost half an hour ago after she had sent everyone else home to enjoy the weekend."

"Well if you must know, yes. I did what you told me to do. I spoke to her and I found out that I've lost her Louie. She is going out with someone tonight. Someone who is flying all the way from Washington to be with her for the weekend."

"Is this the friend that she mentioned to Buzz when she was asking about some concert that is happening tomorrow night?"

"Oh god… a concert" Andy hid his face in his hands. In his mind, he could see Sharon dressed up for a concert in one of her stylish dresses and high heels. Her hair would be perfectly done as always, and she would wear the perfume that was enough to drive any man mad. And she'd go with Pete. Handsome and fit Pete, who was a _lawyer_ who ran those damn _marathons_ in his free time. What had Andy ever thought he had to offer her? He could feel a physical pain in his stomach.

"Come on. We are going to get pizza and go to my place" Provenza said as he smacked him on the head. He didn't want to leave Andy alone. He was clearly distraught and that was never good for a recovering alcoholic. Provenza would have Andy sleep on his couch tonight, just to be on the safe side.

SsS

Sharon took her time to get ready for her evening with Pete by taking a long shower and doing her hair a bit more carefully than normally. Still in her satin bathrobe, she kept thinking that she'd last put this much effort into getting ready at Halloween. Immediately mixed feelings consumed her. At that time she'd been getting ready hoping that Andy would like her red dress and spider pendant. He had. Oh he really had. Sharon could feel her skin flushing and her nipples tightening when she thought back to those kisses back on Linda's balcony what felt like forever ago. They had only been together twice, but oh how she had liked feeling Andy's warm hands sliding against her skin. It had felt good to be wanted. To be desired, in a way that no one had desired her in years. If she just closed her eyes for a moment she was still able to feel Andy's lips on her breasts, doing delicious things to her breasts. She could feel a pulsing start down between her legs with just the thought of Andy's hands slipping lower down her sides as his mouth worked its magic on her breasts. She felt the satin of her bathrobe slide and gently rub against her right nipple as she reached for the hair spray from beside the mirror. The gentle touch wasn't enough, it was like an irritating itch that felt good but was just a meager appetizer when she really just wanted the main course. She pressed her fingers against her nipple gently. That felt better, but what she really needed was Andy, with his front pressed against her back and his mouth whispering sweet nothings into her ear while his hands took hold of…

"Sharon?" She snapped out of her thoughts and blushed furiously when she heard Rusty's voice through the bathroom door.

"Uh, yes?" she managed to get out in a strangled voice. Suddenly she was furious with herself to get that carried away with her fantasies about her lieutenant of all people. Andy, who had been giving her very mixed signals ever since returning from Tacoma, and whose behavior made no sense at all. One moment he was kissing her like there was no tomorrow and like she was the most desirable woman on the planet, and the next he was getting out of her office tripping over furniture like his seat had been on fire.

"Just wondering if you'll take a while or… well the thing is I really need to use the bathroom…" Rusty trailed off.

"I'll be right out Rusty, I'm almost done. Sorry. Didn't mean to hog the bathroom to myself for such a long time."

"Ok" came Rusty's faint reply through the door as he was already probably walking back to the living room.

Embarrassed that Rusty had had to ask her to hurry up and even more embarrassed by the direction her thoughts had taken, she finished her makeup quickly and sprayed on some of the perfume that Andy had liked at the baseball game forever ago, realizing that the way she had been preparing for this evening with Pete was like she was going out on a date. Immediately she felt guilty, wondering what Andy would think of her going out with another man when they had their undefined thing to sort out. Would he not care? Would he wish her good luck? What would he do if Sharon went out with someone on a real date, intending to actually start seeing that man? In the end, she decided that since it wasn't a date, but just a dinner between friends there was nothing wrong with getting dressed up on a Friday night. Still, she couldn't shake the odd feeling. A part of her was hoping that Andy would be jealous if she were indeed going on a date. If she was completely honest with herself, a big part of her was hoping that Andy would be jealous.

SsS

Because of all the overthinking that Sharon had done while getting ready, she felt nervous meeting Pete at his hotel when she got out of the cab. They had agreed that they'd have a quiet evening in the hotel restaurant since the next day there was going to be sightseeing and a classical music concert in the evening, so it was going to be a full day. Conversation was light and they enjoyed a few glasses of wine with dinner. Sharon felt herself feeling more relaxed with Pete by the minute. They had talked a lot on the phone since Sharon and Andy had come back from Tacoma and they were now very comfortable in each other's company even though they hadn't seen each other in several weeks.

They decided to call it an early night since Pete had had a long day and wanted to take advantage of the beach the next day for his morning run. They had a long day ahead of them anyway. Pete helped Sharon into her coat after the lovely meal and when he put his hand on her back to gently escort her out to catch a cab Sharon felt oddly guilty. She wasn't supposed to be here with Pete. Somehow this all felt wrong. She wanted Andy to be the one to see her to a cab and to wave her bye with a gentle smile on his face. She shook her head a bit to clear her thoughts. _Such stupid thoughts_ she thought _,_ since they weren't in a relationship with Andy. This thing that had been between them was still unresolved


	15. Chapter 15

SsS

 _"Sharon, I want you" Andy's hot breath was causing shivers to run down her spine. She could feel his hands slipping under her jacket that was thrown over a black dress to keep her warm in the cool evidence room. They were squeezing her sides gently._

 _"E… excuse me?" she said as she turned around, hating that she sounded a bit breathless. Their noses touched gently before he kissed her with urgency._

 _"You heard me Sharon. I missed you last night and I want you."_

 _This was insane, Sharon thought. They were in the evidence room and anyone could walk in at any moment, and here she was making out with her lieutenant._

 _But lust quickly overrode rational thought when Andy's hand pushed her dress up and slipped between her legs, caressing her through her underwear. It felt amazing, and Andy was hitting just the right spot to get her to squirm for more while his tongue was stroking her lips driving Sharon mad with desire. Sensing her urgency, Andy pushed the material of her panties to the side and pushed one of his fingers into her warm core. He moved his mouth onto her neck and was rewarded with a small moan that escaped from her lips._

 _"How does that feel beautiful?" Andy whispered into her ear, while his finger was working its way in and out of her between her legs. His palm was pressing against her sensitive nub._

 _"Oh god…"_

 _"No it's just Andy, but you can call me whatever you want baby" he said as he slipped another finger in._

 _"Andy…" she moaned against his neck, not quite able to put a sentence together._

 _"Say it Sharon" he urged while increasing the pressure against her clit._

 _"Andy… I uh… I want"_

 _"Yes Sharon? I need you to say it."_

 _"I want you"_

 _"I thought you'd never ask baby" Andy said as he reached for his belt buckle with one hand, his other hand working its magic on Sharon still._

 _Sharon was very close to coming, but wanted the feeling of Andy's thickness pounding into her rhythmically._

 _There was a loud bang from the direction of the door, and both of them immediately straightened up, eyes wide. Andy hastily closed his belt and thanked the heavens in a whisper that he hadn't had time to drop his pants after Sharon's admission that she wanted him. Sharon pulled her dress down and wiped Andy's mouth to make sure that there were no lipstick smudges on his face._ What were we thinking _, she thought to herself as she turned around and nervously ran a hand down her hair. She was hot and flustered and on the brink of an orgasm as she tried to again focus on the evidence boxes when Provenza reached them._

Sharon came to in her bed slowly to the beeping of her alarm, realizing that her body was indeed on the brink of an orgasm. It had been a while since she had last woken up in that state. _Oh god,_ she thought to herself. Where were all these feelings coming from? It was like being intimate with Andy a few times had awoken a slumbering sex beast. She had not been in a steady relationship since Jack, if that anyone could ever associate that relationship with the word stable. Sure, she'd had a few casual relationships over the years after the kids were gone and Jack was nowhere to be found, but truth to be told her she hadn't had sex with a man in a very long time before Andy. Biting her lip, she tried to decide whether to finish the job with her fingers or just let the feelings pass. In the end, she decided to get up and let the shower wash away any remaining feelings of her arousal.

SsS

The dream was still vivid in Sharon's mind in the evening when Rusty dropped her off at Pete's hotel. So much so in fact, that Sharon was wondering what the hell was wrong with her. She had not been able to focus much on the sightseeing with Pete all day because her mind kept wondering back to the dream. It was like all of her hormones were in overdrive. She and Pete were going to get a glass to drink at the hotel and then catch a cab to the concert together from the hotel. Sharon had offered to drive them, but Pete had insisted that he wanted her to relax and not worry about driving that night.

Sharon waited in the bar and ordered herself a glass of red wine while waiting for Pete to come down. So absorbed was she in her thoughts that she startled visibly when Pete laid a hand on her shoulder and leaned across to kiss her cheek gently.

"Sharon you look absolutely stunning" Pete smiled, and it was clear to Sharon by the glow in his eyes that he meant every word. She had tried to look presentable, and she had worn a green dress that she had gotten a few years back. It left her shoulders bare, but she had brought a soft black scarf to go with it in case she got cold in the air conditioned buildings. She was now wondering if the dress was too suggestive.

"Thank you Pete. You don't look bad yourself" Sharon smiled appreciatively while taking in his tux. His mostly gray hair looked a bit damp still. He'd probably just taken a shower, and his blue eyes glittered in the dim lighting of the bar. Sharon realized again that he was a good looking man, and very fit for his age. A real catch for a single middle-aged woman.

"I'll have a glass of the same please" Pete said when he got the bar tender's attention. After that his appreciative eyes turned to admire Sharon again. She felt her skin getting flushed. This was not a date. This was just an evening out with a friend, but the way Pete was looking at her was making her feel like it was a lot more than a night out with a friend.

"You really look lovely tonight Sharon" he said, focusing his gaze on her lips. It unnerved Sharon so much that she wanted to excuse herself to the bathroom. But he had just arrived so she really couldn't leave him sitting here all by himself just as he had gotten here on account of feeling nervous all of a sudden. She heard a faint buzz from the bar counter. _Saved by the phone_ , she thought.

"Oh sorry Pete, let me just check that this is nothing urgent" she said as she dug her phone out of her clutch and went to her messages. It was probably Rusty, letting her know that he'd gotten home safe. But to her surprise it was a message from Andy. For a split second she hesitated, then tapped the message open with her index finger. _I miss you._ That was it. Three little words that threw Sharon off completely. Her smile wobbled a bit and if Pete noticed then he was kind enough not to mention it aloud, but focused instead on gazing at the other patrons in the bar. Sharon tapped the app closed and took a deep breath through her nose while slipping the phone back into her clutch. Then she reached for her wine glass and smiled at Pete, determined to put Andy out of her mind for now.

"So what was is your favorite part of L.A so far?" she asked, as she gathered her emotions and tried to focus on the man sitting next to her. She didn't really hear his answer but let him talk anyway, and made little comments here and there whenever she was able to focus enough and thought it was necessary.

When she got home later that night and slipped out of her heels she sat down heavily on the side of her bed and pulled up the message from Andy. There it was, staring her in the face. Three little words that had managed to throw her off entirely for an entire evening. She knew that she'd be lying to herself is she tried to convince herself that her mind had not been on Andy almost the entire time that she had been with Pete. When Pete laid his hand gently on the small of her back and guided her to their seats it was Andy's hand that she wished to feel through the fabric of her dress. When he leaned in and murmured softly into her ear to make a comment about the performance she had remembered what it felt like to have Andy's warm breath caress her skin like that whenever they were out for one of their movie nights. Pete was everything a woman could want, and for the first time Sharon realized that Pete might not only be seeing her as a friend. The thought of Pete thinking of tonight as a real date terrified Sharon, even if he was handsome, polite, attentive, funny and a complete gentleman in every way. Yet Sharon was coming to the realization that she may already have handed her heart out to someone else a while ago.

The phone felt warm in her hand. She had been so distracted all night because of those three words, yet she had no idea what to reply. She wanted to say that she missed him too, but it was confusing when he was so cold toward her sometimes, and then couldn't keep his hands off of her at times. It was almost like he was attracted to her against his will. Sharon squeezed her eyes shut. Thanksgiving had been a disaster and things had been very tense between them since then. She didn't know what to expect from him anymore. It seemed like he was so torn around her these days. Torn between wanting and not wanting her. Sharon started typing a message and then erased the letters she had typed. What to say to Andy? She missed him too. She had missed him all evening and wished that it had been Andy instead of Pete taking her to a concert. And the thought of Pete thinking that tonight had been a date was simply terrifying. She was not interested in him romantically and didn't want to mislead him at all. She didn't want to hurt Pete. Maybe, if she and Andy didn't have their _thing_ to talk through and if she had no feelings at all of Andy then she'd be interested in seeing where this could go with Pete. But that was a lot of maybes, and the bottom line was that Andy and she needed to talk.

" _Are you free tomorrow night? We should talk_ " she decided to text him in the end. It was almost midnight and Andy was probably in bed already so she didn't expect a reply from him until the following morning. She went into the bathroom to go through her nightly routine and was surprised to see a reply from him when she came back into the bedroom.

" _Going over to Nicole's for dinner tomorrow. Cleaning up the Thanksgiving mess. Earlier in the day?"_

 _"Need to drop off Pete at the airport at 4pm. How about Monday, after work?"_

There was no immediate reply so Sharon lay down and got under the covers assuming that Andy had fallen asleep already and would reply in the morning when he was up again. She was almost asleep when she heard the faint buzz again. She had to put on her glasses to see Andy's reply.

 _"Sure. Good night."_ So on Monday they'd talk then Sharon thought as she put her glasses away again and closed her eyes.

SsS

 _The waves were lapping against the beach peacefully. Sharon was leaning against Andy's shoulder with her nose pressed against his warm neck. The smell of his aftershave was all around her. She could feel the evening air caressing her skin. It wasn't warm, so she felt a small shiver travel down her back._

 _"Cold?" Andy asked gently._

 _"A bit. It's ok though" she said while breathing in his aftershave again. She didn't want to move. She knew that she'd be ok at least for another 15 minutes or so. She just wanted to enjoy the moment of being so near him and listening to the ocean. She felt his hand sneak between the bench backrest and her back and pull her closer. Their sides were now pressed together and he left his hand right where it had pulled her closer, on her hip._

 _Andy's hand felt warm through the thin material of Sharon's summer dress. She didn't normally wear such casual clothes but a walk on the beach at sunset had sounded like the perfect occasion to go out in such a casual dress for a change._

 _Andy looked down at the woman who was now snuggled up to his side. Her hand was resting on his thigh and her face hidden against his neck. Andy's eyes fell on her chest. There was a lot more cleavage showing today than usual and it had driven Andy to distraction all afternoon and evening. With the way she was pressed against his side and her upper body turned toward him, he could see even more now than earlier. She was wearing a snow white lace bra underneath, and with the way her breasts were pressed against him, it created a natural push-up effect that made Andy want to trail his finger against the mounds of Sharon's breasts. He looked around and noticed that the fading sunset had taken most people with it from the stretch of beach that they currently occupied. A few other couples could be seen walking away from them lost in their own happiness. He slowly touched Sharon's neck so as not to startle her, caressing the back of her neck before tracing his finger down towards the inviting cleavage. He teased her with his finger, playing with the soft skin, slowly dipping his finger in the small space between her skin and the material of the bra. With that he got Sharon's attention._

 _"Andy, what are you doing?" she said as she raised her head from his neck and looked around embarrassed. Oh he had her full attention now. Seeing that no one was around or paying any attention to them at all she relaxed her grip on his wrist and let him continue._

 _"What does it feel like I am doing?" Andy let some of the desire show in his eyes. He wanted her, no doubt about that._

 _"I uh… I don't know Andy… I mean we're in a very public place here…" Sharon breathed out. There was no point in pretending that his touch was not affecting her. She was starting to develop a slight blush on her cleavage and neck. Suddenly it wasn't chilly at all. Seeing her response emboldened Andy even further and he slowly dipped his finger deeper into her bra until he was caressing her nipple with the tip of his finger._

 _Sharon looked around again just to make sure that no one was paying any attention to them. For some reason it felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in the fresh ocean air and she had to take a few deep breaths, which of course made even more space for Andy's finger in her bra as she exhaled, before the material of her bra pressed the finger more firmly against her nipple as she inhaled._

 _"Andy this is madness…" she whispered, letting the desire show in her eyes as their gazes met. She reached out for his hand again, unsure if it was to press it harder against her breast or to remove it to a safer place._

 _"You're right, it is madness. That dress of yours has been driving me mad all afternoon and evening. I want to push it up and take you right here on the beach." With that Sharon inhaled sharply. He took her hand without asking and gently guided it against the bulge between his legs. Sharon could feel the evidence of his desire through his shorts. He was warm and hard for her and she could feel herself getting wet with the thought of what Andy could make her feel with this bulge._

Again Sharon came to in her bed in a state that could only be described as aroused. Her breasts felt very sensitive against the material of the purple nightie that she had bought in Tacoma all those weeks ago. It was the one that she had been wearing that night when the raccoons had tried to invade their garbage bin and Andy had said that she was beautiful. It was the first time they had really kissed and fallen asleep in each other's arms. So much had happened since then. Sharon got a glimpse of herself in the mirror in the corner of her room as she got up. She wondered what Andy would see if he saw her this morning like this. Someone that he desired physically yet didn't truly want? Sharon felt old and unattractive. She could see the outlines of her breasts against the material of the nightie. Her hair was all mussed and the wrinkles around her eyes were glaringly obvious in the early morning rays without any makeup. She was not getting any younger.

She heard her phone buzzing on her night stand. Probably Pete wanting to confirm what time they were meeting before she was dropping him off at the airport. She frowned as she saw the caller was not Pete, but Provenza. She so did not want to get called in today.

"Good morning lieutenant" she tried to muster a little bit of energy as she picked up.

"Morning captain. It wouldn't be a glorious Sunday morning if we didn't have a dead body on our hands, right?"

"Tell me what you got please" Sharon managed not to sigh. She was tired and hadn't wanted to get called in today because it had been a long Saturday taking Pete around town and then going to the concert. She had really been looking forward to taking a rest. Pete and she had agreed to meet at the beach some time before lunch for some down time before eating. She had planned on bringing Rusty as well. It would do him good to do go to the beach for a bit and meet Pete. And it would also make it less date-like if Rusty were there she had secretly thought. After lunch it would already be time for Pete to go to the airport.

"Patrol came across a few bodies in this residential neighborhood. Pretty badly mutilated. Based on the smell they are guessing that the bodies might have been there for a few days at least. They wouldn't have called me otherwise but they found traces of blood leading out of the house and it seems like there had been a struggle so they are guessing that someone was taken alive. So instead of robbery/homicide they want us."

"Thank you lieutenant. Text me the address and let everyone else know please. I'll meet you at the crime scene as soon as I can get there." Sharon ended the call, sighing deeply again. Not only had she been looking forward to having a lazy day today, but Pete would be disappointed that they wouldn't have a chance to go to the beach today for lunch. She picked up the phone again and searched for Pete in her contacts.

"Good morning Pete. How are you? Did you sleep well?"

"Morning" Sharon could hear him yawning. "Slept very well thank you. I was actually just about to give you a call to confirm what time you were going to pick me up today."

"Listen Pete that is why I 'm calling this early. There's been a change of plans. Unfortunately I've been called into work. Patrol found a dead body this morning and my team has been asked to investigate so I'm going to have to go to the crime scene to get started on this case."

"Oh, I see. I guess murderers never rest in L.A" Pete tried to be sympathetic to Sharon's situation although he was disappointed that he wouldn't have a chance to spend time with her today as planned.

"No, unfortunately not. I'm sorry I have to cancel our plans for today."

"No don't be sorry. I mean it's too bad that we won't have a chance to go to the beach but maybe I could still swing by your office around lunch time so that if you're not busy at the time we could grab a quick bite to eat before I head off to the airport" Pete added hopefully, hating that Sharon was feeling guilty for having to work.

"Yes that is actually a good idea. Why don't you come by at around 1PM and we will see if I can leave for about an hour or so to grab something to eat. The team will need to eat at some point anyway and coming by will give you a chance to meet some of the team members and maybe even see some action in the murder room."

"Ok sure. Sounds like a plan. I'll text you when I am leaving the hotel."

"Ok, see you around lunch time then."

"Yup, and good luck with solving the case Sharon."

"Thank you" Sharon smiled as she ended the call. It was actually a great idea for Pete to come and visit her at work. This way she wouldn't feel so guilty about leaving him to his own devices for his final day in L.A and they'd still most likely be able to have lunch.


	16. Chapter 16

As always, thank you for the reviews!

SsS

Sharon didn't venture out to murder scenes that often anymore, but since she was getting called out on a Sunday morning she drove over to the scene anyway just to see it for herself. By the time she got there she was grateful that the bodies had already been removed because she could not imagine what the smell had been like with the bodies in the house. It was still so bad that Sharon started regretting her decision to come see for herself the moment she stepped inside the house. There was blood pretty much everywhere and Buzz had already documented everything. Morales was on his way to the morgue, as were the bodies. Provenza filled Sharon in on their working theory for now and pointed out the signs of struggle and blood marks on the floor that indicated that someone had been dragged out of the house while still alive, albeit bleeding profusely. There was a car missing from the garage and the adult son who had been living in the house with his parents had not showed up for his shift at work that morning. Andy and Amy were currently at the son's place of work trying to work out the details of when had last been seen.

It seemed like all that could be done at the scene was done, so the team made their way to the murder room to reconvene and to look at all of the evidence. As Sharon was busy writing the names of possible suspects on the whiteboard Amy and Andy walked in. She glanced at Andy, wanting to make eye-contact, but he was reading out the details of what he and Amy had found out from his notepad when she looked at him. She noticed that he looked like he had not slept at all. His suit and shirt were immaculate as always, but she could see that there were dark circles under his eyes. When he finished reading his notes he looked up at Sharon, and she noticed that he had a sheepish and slightly sad expression on his face. She wondered why he had not slept much. She had managed to get almost nine hours of sleep between their last text and her alarm going off right before Provenza's call.

Sharon allocated tasks for each team member and headed to her office to start filling out the paperwork for the overtime and the case. They were waiting for evidence to be brought back from the crime scene and until it arrived she didn't really have anything that she could do about the case so might as well get started with the paperwork. She was so absorbed in it that she almost didn't hear the quiet knock on her door.

"Hey, may I?" Andy said as he stepped in.

"Yes, of course. Anything?" Sharon asked automatically as she looked up from the forms and gave him a small smile. Things were not ok between them but at least they now had an agreement that they were going to talk. If everything worked out well with this case that was. Something told Sharon that they'd probably solve this case by tomorrow. It didn't seem like a big mystery what had happened. The only thing worrying her was where and in what condition they'd find the person who'd been taken alive.

"No, we're still waiting on the evidence… and warrant as well."

"I see."

"Sharon… I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for… well for everything."

"For everything?" Sharon stood up and closed the door to her office. Everyone in the murder room was busy with something but she didn't want anyone to overhear a word of this.

"For messing things up Sharon" Andy clarified, looking at her with that same sad expression on his face. Sharon wanted to stroke his cheek. He looked so tired and worn. It was like he had aged 10 years since they had come back from Tacoma. His normally good posture was gone today and he looked very defeated.

"It's ok Andy. Things don't always go as planned." She smiled at him and recognized that as much as they needed to talk this was not a good time or place to do so. They had just started with a new case and as they spoke she could see through the windows that behind Andy's back evidence was being carried into the murder room.

"I know this is not a good time to talk Sharon. And we already agreed to talk tomorrow but since there is no knowing how this case will go I just wanted to get that off my chest before anything else."

"Thank you Andy. I appreciate the apology, but you are right, we still need to talk about many things. But we need to solve this case first, and you have your dinner with Nicole tonight so we'll talk as soon as we can." She reached out for his hand. He seemed to need the reassurance that she wasn't harboring any ill feelings towards him. She gave his hand a little squeeze as she opened her office door again. The look of defeat on his face made her feel bad. She had no idea why he was looking so lost and defeated today.

"They brought the evidence in while we were talking. Let's go have a look" she said to him quietly as she exited her office.

Gathering and going through the evidence and clues as to who might have taken the missing son was slow but fairly straight forward work from there onwards. Once they had a warrant for the phone patrol had found at the crime scene they were able to piece the sequence of events at the crime scene fairly easily. By around noon they had a name for a suspect and were trying to find him through traffic surveillance footage and through cell phone records. Andy and Mike were hunched over Mike's computer at one of the desks when there was a gentle clearing of the throat from behind them. Pete, dressed casually in jeans and a light blue shirt stood there clearly uncomfortable to be in such odd surroundings with gruesome murder scene pictures pinned up on the whiteboard and not having a clue where to find Sharon.

His expression lit up right away when he recognized Andy when he turned around.

"Dre… I mean Andrew. Hey. Good to see you again. How have you been?" Pete smiled as he offered his hand. His handshake was warm, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes and he seemed to be genuinely happy to see Andy.

"Hey Peter. Yes… good to see you. Sharon mentioned that you were going to be in town this weekend. How are you?" Andy thought that he was keeping it together very well all things considered.

"I've been well. Great actually. It's been wonderful to visit L.A and have such a lovely tour guide to take me around this weekend."

"Oh yes, right. Right… well this is Mike Tao, one of the members of our team. Mike, this is Peter from Tacoma. He was Sharon's boss up in Tacoma when we were in the witness protection program."

"The captain's boss you say? Oh I see… yes, she was working in a law firm up there for a while wasn't she? Nice to meet you." All the pieces of the puzzle were clicking into place for Mike now.

"Yes, that's right. Up in Washington. So I heard you guys got called in today. A murder as I uh, understood…" Pete was clearly making a conscious effort not to glance in the direction of the board and made a vague gesture towards it with his hand instead.

"Yes, that's right. And you are probably here looking for the captain?"

"Sharon, yes. She mentioned that you'd all have to take a lunch break at some point."

"Oh gosh, yes. It is probably time for lunch." Mike said as he glanced at his watch, noticing that it was almost one already. They had been so focused on the video feeds that they had not noticed how quickly time had passed.

Andy glanced through the window into Sharon's office. She was in there, and she'd noticed that Pete was here but she was still on the phone making notes on something. She glanced up quickly smiling, and held one finger up to indicate that she'd only be a moment. Pete followed Andy's gaze and a soft smile came onto his face as soon as he saw Sharon in her office. Andy felt a painful twist in his stomach. Sharon was clearly happy to see Pete, and you didn't need to be a detective to interpret that soft smile on his face. He had feelings for Sharon for sure. Andy wondered what they had done last night after the concert. She'd gotten back pretty early, so at least… _oh gosh_ , it really was none of his business. He looked away from both Pete and Sharon back at the computer and camera feeds. He didn't want to see the happy expression on Sharon's face. It was like a knife was being twisted in his gut.

"So Peter how are you finding L.A so far?" He asked Pete, just to get his attention off of Sharon for a second. He figured he had to make small talk with Pete until Sharon finished her phone call. She was on the landline, so it was official police business for sure.

"It's been wonderful Andrew, thanks for asking. The weather down here is much more pleasant than up in Tacoma at this time of the year. I've enjoyed the sunshine and the city very much. It's certainly a lot more glamorous than Tacoma, as you well know."

"So what's been the best part of L.A so far?" Mike asked, curious what an outsider would think of their home city.

"The beaches are nice, as was the concert we went to with Sharon last night. But the best of all has probably been the company." Pete smiled as he said that, and glanced in the direction of Sharon's office again. He was making no secret of the fact that he was fond of Sharon. His admission felt like another twist of the knife for Andy. So he was here for Sharon, not really the city or sights. Somewhere deep inside he had known that already. A million questions ran through his mind. _How far had they progressed in their relationship? Had Pete told her about his feelings? What had she said if he had? How did she feel about him? Were they pursuing this? Were they already in a relationship? What about what was between him and Sharon? They had agreed to talk tomorrow night. Was it all in vain? Was she already taken?_ Andy felt sick to his stomach, and at that moment Sharon smiled as she came out of her office to greet Pete. He briefly touched her back in a half hug and smiled at her.

"Hello again"

"Well hello Pete. I see you've already met Andy and Mike. Thanks for agreeing to come here today."

"My pleasure. It's interesting to see where you two work normally" Pete said in an attempt to include Andy in the conversation. Sharon noticed that Andy had a pained and defeated expression on his face again and he was avoiding looking at anyone.

"Well, gentlemen, I do believe that it is time for lunch. Would you two want to join us?" she politely asked Mike and Andy, hoping that they would agree. It took Andy completely by surprise, and he fumbled for an excuse to get out of the invitation without embarrassing anyone.

"Well actually captain… uhh…I think I'd like to continue working through lunch and see if I might grab something small a bit later. The sooner we can catch this dirtbag the sooner we can get out of here and I was really hoping to get to that dinner at Nicole's tonight." There, he thought. It was a reasonable excuse and he really didn't want to cancel on Nicole tonight. He needed to go and apologize to his daughter. He had dragged it on long enough.

"Oh ok, I see. Uhhh… Mike, would you like to join us?"

"Thank you for the invite captain, but I think I'll stay here with Andy and see if we can find the guy. I was also kind of hoping to get home to my wife as soon as possible." Mike gave Andy a glance. He had a feeling that this had to do with something else than Andy wanting to have dinner with his daughter tonight, and he really just wanted to offer the moral support in case Andy needed it.

"Ok, well in that case looks like it's just us. Let me just grab my purse" Sharon said as she smiled at all three of the men. She was a bit disappointed that neither one of her team members wanted to join. She had been hoping that they would, so that the conversation would be light. She had realized last night that Pete might be seeing her as potentially something more than a friend, and the more she had thought about that today, the more uncomfortable it made her. He was wonderful in every possible way, but until this thing between Andy and her was sorted and discussed she really wasn't interested in seeing where it would lead with Pete.

Andy watched Sharon walk away with Pete hovering too close to her to Andy's liking. He wasn't sure if it was worse watching them walk away just the two of them or the thought of having to watch Pete hover over Sharon like that all through lunch. Either way, he still felt sick to his stomach with the jealousy. For a split second he wondered if it was too late to run after them and join them, but he dismissed the idea knowing that it would look ridiculous. He had no right to feel possessive about Sharon. They were not in a relationship and he only had himself to blame for messing it all up with her. As much as it pained to admit, at this point he was lucky if he could still manage to keep her as a friend.

Andy was almost of no help to Mike for the next hour because he was so distracted and worried about what might be going on between Sharon and Pete during lunch. He internally cursed his decision not to go with them deciding that it was even worse not knowing. When they returned an hour later Andy had psyched himself into having a civil conversation with Pete as he got ready to leave for the airport. He managed to get through the pleasantries and make small talk again. As much as Andy hated to admit it, Pete was really a nice guy. Sharon was going to walk him down and on a whim Andy decided to follow. After all, it was better to know than not to know, right?

Sharon pressed the button for Pete and they waited for the elevator in an awkward silence. Inside the elevator Andy stood so close to Sharon that he could smell her perfume, and he wondered if Pete had noticed or commented on it. It was the one that she had worn for the baseball game forever ago, the one that he had mentioned liking. The thought of Sharon wearing it for Pete made his stomach turn once again. It was a good thing he hadn't had lunch because with all this emotional turmoil he probably wouldn't have been able to keep it down.

As the driver lifted Pete's bag into the back of the cab Andy and Sharon wished him a safe flight. Pete shook Andy's hand firmly and Andy thought that his face would crack from all the smiling that he was forcing himself to do today. Yet the smile did not waver when Pete gave Sharon a kiss on the cheek and pulled her in for a hug before getting in the cab. He whispered something in her ear just as he pulled away. Andy could see that she was all flustered and had a hard time meeting his eyes when Pete's cab drove away. He wanted to pull her to him and… no. He had to stop this train of thought. It wouldn't lead anywhere.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly when they were inside the elevator again. It took everything he had not to ask what Pete had whispered into her ear as they parted.

"Yeah I'm fine Andy" Sharon was embarrassed that Andy had witnessed what she was sure had seemed like an intimate moment between her and Pete. It wasn't like that at all. She wanted to explain to Andy, but she didn't know how or if it even would be appropriate. Or that he would care. Sharon's worst fear was that he'd shrug his shoulders and seem indifferent. She needed Andy to care.

He brushed her hand lightly, very aware that there were cameras recording them in the elevator as they stepped out. It was such a light touch that Sharon couldn't be sure if it had been intentional or not when she replayed it in her mind again later in the day.


	17. Chapter 17

SsS

It was finally Monday afternoon. They had managed to solve the case and the victim had been found alive. It was a big relief to everyone, and Sharon wanted to send the team home a bit earlier since they had had to work on Sunday. As soon as each team member was done with their paperwork, Sharon sent them home with strict orders not to show up until noon the next day unless they got called in. She tried to give them as much time back during the week as she could whenever they had to work weekends. Working her team to death would not be beneficial to anyone. She was nervous about her talk with Andy that evening. They had had the evening off on Sunday, so as far as she knew he had gone to the dinner at Nicole's.

"Here you go captain." Andy said formally as he handed his paperwork over to Sharon. Only Provenza was left in the murder room finishing up his paperwork. The old man had been so busy solving one of his crossword puzzles that he'd gotten a late start on his paperwork. Andy suspected that he was lonely at home, so he was probably in no hurry to get going.

"Thank you Andy" Sharon said softly as she took the papers from his hand. Their hands met in the briefest of touches as she reached for the papers, and was it just her imagination that he took a deep breath as their fingers connected? She looked at him with a soft expression in her eyes. Andy had to look down at his shoes. Her expression was making him feel too much.

"So… uhhh. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yes Andy. Mike wanted to take Rusty out to the movies with his son, and then for burgers afterwards, so I have the entire evening free."

"Ok, great. So how about I pick you up at 6? Or is that too early? We could go to that nice quiet place on the beach that's one of your favorites"

"Sure. I can drive myself though, you don't need to come and pick me up. It's quite a detour for you."

"No it's ok Sharon. Just… I… let me do this for you, please?"

"Ok, Andy. I'll be ready at 6."

"Great, see you then Sharon."

Andy heard a quiet "idiots" tossed in his direction as he made his way out of the murder room and down to parking.

SsS

Andy was so nervous picking Sharon up that he kept checking his appearance in the mirror until it was time to go. He'd showered and thrown on a white and blue shirt to go with his jeans. They were going to a casual Italian restaurant on the beach, and that was one of the reasons Andy had suggested the place. He didn't want tonight to be formal, because it would make the difficult discussion that they were going to have even more difficult. They'd be able to go for a walk on the beach after dinner if they felt like it, and Andy sincerely hoped that they'd be ok enough by then to go for a walk.

He had very mixed feelings about tonight. He was hopeful that they'd be able to regain at least some of the friendship that they'd lost in the past month. On the other hand, he had already given up on many other aspects of their relationship and it made him infinitely sad. As much as it pained him to admit, Pete was a good guy and had a lot more to offer to Sharon than him. Above all, Andy wanted Sharon to be happy, and if Pete could make her happy then so be it. When he thought of that, he wanted to put his fist through the nearest wall. He could feel his blood pressure rising with the thought of Sharon being with someone else. He didn't want any other man touching her.

He composed himself and knocked on her door. He tried to breathe deeply and evenly to calm himself. He'd get through this conversation tonight. He'd decided to put some of his cards on the table. It was the only way to salvage what was still salvageable.

"Hey" Sharon said as she opened the door, smiling at him. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a red top to go with the dark blue. She was secretly hoping that the color of her top would make Andy think of the red dress that Andy really liked. She had decided to wear sensible shoes that would make a walk on the beach possible if they wanted to linger after dinner. They usually did when they dined at this particular restaurant.

"Hi" Andy replied shyly, taking in her gorgeous appearance. "Ready to go?"

"Yes" she said and then called out to Rusty not to open the door for anyone but Mike and his son when they came to pick him up. There was a muffled reply from Rusty's room and Sharon proceeded to grab her black leather coat before closing the door behind her and listening to make sure that it locked. Andy was itching to take her hand, but held himself back for fear of what she would do if he did.

Sharon could see how nervous Andy was and so she decided to hold her tongue in the car until they got to the parking lot of the restaurant. She was worried that engaging Andy in conversation would cause him to be unable to focus on the traffic around him at all and that they'd end up in an accident. He took a deep breath when he felt Sharon's left hand stroke his arm and grab his hand once he had parked the car.

"Andy, you're making me nervous" she attempted to get him to relax. Might as well say it aloud since it was so obvious and it was actually making her nervous to see him like that.

"Sorry Sharon. It's just that… I'm afraid I'm going to mess this up as well" he admitted nervously while running his left hand through his hair. He was enjoying her touch, but it didn't have the calming effect that she intended. Instead, it made him wonder if this would be the last time that she'd touch him like that. The thought made him sad again.

"Andy it's just me. It's just us. We've been here many times before. We are just two friends having dinner and talking."

Sharon could feel Andy stiffen up after that last comment. It was like everything that she said had the opposite effect on Andy for some reason. Trying to calm him down just made him more agitated. She was at a loss.

"Come on. Let's go order some vegetarian lasagna for you" she gave him that brilliant smile of hers and watched him get out of the car. She saw him take a deep and uneven breath when he locked the car. He had defeat written all over him.

Once they were seated and settled she studied Andy from behind her menu. She already knew what she was going to order, and she suspected he'd have the vegetarian lasagna as usual, but she needed to study him for a minute to figure out what was going on with him. He was acting weird. It was like he had already decided that he had already messed everything up. It was like he had already given up on them.

Once they had placed their orders Andy seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"So did you have dinner with Nicole last night?" Sharon figured his daughter would be a safe topic to start with.

"Oh yes. I went to her place straight from work. It was good. We had a chance to talk after she put the kids to bed."

"I see. And how are things between you now?" Sharon prodded gently, reaching for his hand over the table. She was craving the physical contact. Stroking his hand was not nearly enough, but it was better than nothing. He seemed to perk up with the touch.

"Well, I explained to her what happened. I mean… no, not that… God Sharon I would never tell…" He scrambled to explain that he would never kiss and tell and could see the amusement in her eyes. He smiled and looked away. He always ended up saying the wrong thing in one way or another.

"Hey" Sharon waited until he was looking at her again. "It's ok. I know what you mean." To that Andy smiled gratefully. The moment had helped relieve some of the tension. Sharon's hand stroking his was distracting him, and he was starting to feel a little bit more relaxed. Andy took a deep breath before he continued. Here came the hard part.

"She may have had the wrong idea about the two of us, and I explained everything to her last night."

"The wrong idea?" Sharon asked, perplexed.

"Yeah" _time to pay the piper_ Andy thought. "So I may have led her to believe already earlier, before Tacoma happened I mean, that there was maybe something between us that I had wanted to be between us, but that was not there at the time."

This confession left Sharon completely silent. It was the combination of Andy lying to his daughter, and the revelation that he had wanted there to be something. The first revelation left her upset for obvious reasons, but the latter revelation was, well surprising to say the least. She withdrew her hand quietly and slowly. He'd wanted there to be something between them? Her heart was beating so hard that she had to swallow a few times to make sure it was still in her chest and didn't get a chance to escape through her open mouth. She was stunned.

"I uhh… you led her to believe what? So what exactly did she think was between us before Tacoma, Andy?" she asked quietly.

"Well she may have been under the impression that we were… well… uhh, how should I put this Sharon… well, maybe dating a bit…" he trailed off. She withdrew her hand.

"You _may have told her_ that we were _dating_ before Tacoma?"

"Well, in short. Yes. I'm sorry Sharon. Please don't be mad. It was just that I wanted it…" He trailed off helplessly, not knowing what to say. Or rather, knowing what he wanted to say, but not knowing what her reaction to it would be and dreading the moment of truth.

"You wanted what Andy?" She asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them, yet needing to know the answer to the question.

"Well…" he said and then looked at his hands, avoiding her eyes. "I wanted it to be true" he said in such a soft voice that she barely heard it.

His confession silenced Sharon completely again. Her heart was breaking for Andy. She could feel the moisture collecting in her eyes. He was busy looking at his hands. He knew he had messed this up as well on top of everything else. He felt good for having finally said it out aloud. It was like a big secret that he'd been trying to keep had been let out into daylight, and it felt really good to have Sharon know how he had felt all those months ago. How he still felt, now more than ever.

Sharon reached out for his hand again. She felt like her heart was in her throat and she recognized that they needed the physical connection. She took hold of Andy's hand gently and stroked it with her thumb. She could feel the tears threatening.

"Look at me Andy." She waited until he was able to meet her gaze. He looked sad and relieved at the same time.

"I am upset that you lied to Nicole about our relationship. But more than that I am baffled as to why you didn't say anything to me about your feelings." A tear trickled down her cheek and she used the back of her hand to wipe it away before it would ruin her makeup. All those months that she had thought she wasn't Andy's type, and he had been secretly wishing that they were dating. All the heartache up in Tacoma, when she had been thinking that he was into their blond and curvy neighbor.

"I was worried that I would push you too hard. I didn't want you to feel pressured. I was happy with the friendship. I _am_ happy with the friendship. I just… you are very important to me Sharon, and I don't want to lose you."

At that moment the waitress brought over the food they had ordered. Sharon wasn't hungry at all after this revelation, but it had been a long day and she knew she should eat something.

"I'm here Andy. You are not losing me" she said as she let go of his hand. She slowly cut her fish into pieces and ate the vegetables that it had come with. She could see that Andy was pushing his food around his plate rather than eating it. It was a clear sign that he was in as much emotional turmoil as she. Conversation had become impossible. There were so many raw emotions swirling around them that Sharon didn't know where to start. When she had finished her fish she pushed the plate to the side and slid into the seat that was closer to Andy. She noticed that he was having a hard time focusing on eating his lasagna. He looked up at her nervously a few times. She knew he probably wasn't hungry either after such an emotional conversation.

"You are not losing me Andy, and you'll be hungry later if you don't finish it" she said gently, just enjoying feeling the heat of him radiating onto her skin. She waited for him to eat at least a little bit more before speaking again, and then watched him finish most of it. While he was eating she had some time to sort out her own feelings. Mostly she just watched this wonderful and kind man in front of her and wondered what she had ever done to deserve such a person in her life. She knew that she needed to give him some reassurance that he hadn't lost her. She leaned against his shoulder the best she could with the table corner separating them. She squeezed his arm and said quietly to him "I'd like to date you now if it's not too late."

Andy's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open.

"Sharon… I… just I know that you and Pete have been growing closer since we got back to L.A and now that he visited… I thought…" Now Sharon understood the defeated look that he had had when they had come into the restaurant.

"You thought wrong Andy." And now it was Sharon's turn to fumble for the right words. "I think he is interested in… more than friendship with me, but as long as there is someone else in my life I am not interested in seeing where things would lead with Pete. He is a wonderful person Andy, but I already have someone in my life that I enjoy spending time with." With that she pressed her forehead against his temple. "So what do you say Andy, would you like to start dating?" she whispered. With that Andy felt an incredible warmth start to spread through him. He grabbed Sharon's hand and squeezed it tight. He was overwhelmed with emotion. There was a lump in his throat. It was hard to speak.

"Sharon I thought I had messed it all up after Tacoma and that you were… well I thought that you were beginning a relationship with him." I had all come out in a rush.

"No Andy." Sharon shook her head and just breathed his scent in. She wanted to stay like that forever.

"Sharon let's get the check and get out of here. I want to talk to you more but I'd rather do it outside on the beach if it's ok with you."

With that Sharon straightened in her chair and caressed his cheek with the outside of her fingers. His whole demeanor had changed. He looked radiant.

"Andy I think that's an excellent idea" she murmured, not letting go of his hand as he put his hand up to call the waitress over.

They held hands all the way to the beach after having paid for the food. The wind was quite strong, but it wasn't too cold this evening, so their leather jackets were perfect for the weather. Andy's warm hand felt firm and solid, and when their shoulders would occasionally bump as they walked Sharon was able to get a small whiff of his cologne. There were a lot of things that still needed to be discussed, but for now the scent was distracting her and making her wonder if Andy would kiss her tonight. She wondered if this could be considered a first date. There weren't many people out, it being a weekday. Once they reached a bench Andy pulled Sharon down to sit.

"Let's sit for a while" he said to her as she looked at him questioningly. Her red top was becoming very distracting under that leather jacket, but Andy knew that tonight wasn't the time to be getting distracted by her body. He pulled her close and buried his nose in her hair.

"Sharon, there are so many things that we need to talk about still, but for now I need you to know that the time up in Tacoma that we spent together after we had grown closer was the happiest that I have been since I got divorced."

Overcome by emotion, Sharon took a deep breath and squeezed his hand tightly.

"You don't need to say anything, but please know that you make me so incredibly happy just by being in my life."

"Oh Andy…" the lump in her throat would not allow her to speak, and her eyes were brimming with tears again. It had been such an emotional evening. She felt his mouth just below her ear, giving her a gentle kiss. They sat there for a while, just enjoying the nearness and warmth of each other's bodies.

"Andy, I think we need to talk about what went wrong after Tacoma" Sharon finally said, moving her thumb comfortingly on his hand.

"Yeah" Andy sighed quietly into her ear, still keeping his face buried in her hair.

"I thought things were going so well up there, and that we had decided to take things slow once we got here, but instead I felt like you… well like you closed off and started avoiding me."

"Sharon I'm sorry about that. I was just… I… once you told me that you were talking to Pete quite frequently I was so jealous. I guess on some level I thought it would be better to push you away than to get hurt when you decided to leave me for him. I was really stupid. I was hurt and stupid and I thought things were over between us…"

"You thought I'd forget about what we had in Tacoma after a few phone calls with Pete?"

"Like I said Sharon, I was really stupid. It was wrong of me to shut down and push you away."

"Just promise me that you'll talk to me in the future when you feel upset like that. I need to know so that we can talk it though."

"Yeah, I will. I'm not letting go of you Sharon. Not for Pete or anyone else. If these weeks since Tacoma have taught me anything it's that I need to come and talk to you when I feel unsure or hurt about something." As Andy said that, he shifted his head so that he was looking at Sharon. Taking advantage of that, Sharon laid her head against his shoulder and breathed in the scent of his cologne again. She was feeling relaxed and truly at peace for the first time since they had come back from Tacoma. They remained like that for a long while, until Sharon spoke again.

"What ever made you think that I'd prefer Pete over you Andy?"

"Because you are so gorgeous Sharon, and because he is so fit and successful and genuinely a good guy… and I am just an old drunk with anger management issues and…"

"No, Andy don't say that…" Sharon said as she lifted her head off of his shoulder and looked at him, pressing a finger onto his lips to silence him.

"But it's true Sharon, he runs marathons in his free time and…"

This time Sharon silenced him with a kiss to his lips.

"But you are the one who makes me happy Andy" she said as she pressed her forehead against his. She could hear and feel him take a deep breath. He pressed his eyes closed.

"What have I ever done in my life to deserve a person like you to care about me Sharon?"

"Shhh Andy. You have made mistakes but you have made amends and you are a true and kind man, with a good heart." With that she pressed her hand against his chest to feel his heart beating against her hand.

"Sharon…" but this time conversation was lost in a gentle and loving kiss. Once they came up for air Sharon looked at him and brushed the outside of her hand against his cheek again.

"So from now on Andy, when you feel upset or jealous you will come to me and talk to me, ok?"

He just nodded in response, lost in the depths of her green eyes. They came together for another gentle kiss, and another one after that.

The End

SsS

 **Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews that have kept me going. All of your comments and words of encouragement are much appreciated! I am happy that so many people enjoyed reading this story. This was the final chapter, although I am thinking of writing a short epilogue.**


End file.
